MARTINET Sandrine

Classification
B2 (larep.fr, 15 Apr 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (Athlete, 01 Apr 2016)

Impairment Details
She has achromatopsia, a vision condition which causes her to be unable to perceive colour and have poor visual acuity. (lejsl.com, 08 Mar 2012)

General
POSTPONEMENT CATASTROPHE
She described the postponement of the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo as a catastrophe, as it meant that at age 38 she would have to face another year of sacrifice and time away from her children and work in order to concentrate on training. "The postponement was a catastrophe for me, because it's an extra year of not working in my job, an extra year of sorting out babysitting for my children, an extra year of sacrifice, an extra year of everything else that is involved. I will be age 38 [in 2021] and I did not expect it to go like this. It was a big shock, even if I understand that it was a logical and unavoidable decision because of what is happening [with COVID-19]. I did briefly consider quitting, but did not think about it for long. I decided the same day [the postponement was announced] that I would continue. In December [2019] I stopped working in my job as physiotherapist, although I still do a little bit of physiotherapy work so I don't lose my touch, and I put everything aside to concentrate on preparing for the Paralympics [in 2021] as well as looking after my children. I made the decision to prioritise Tokyo and my children above my work." (lejsl.com, 22 Aug 2020)

ATTITUDES TOWARDS PARA SPORT
She believes that more media exposure for Para sport will help improve attitudes towards people with impairments. "I felt alone and isolated because of my impairment. But once I discovered sport, my disability disappeared. I was able to express my anger at the injustices of the world. I had fun, and my colleagues in judo simply forgot my disability was even there. But in the real world, things were not so easy. Today I no longer feel ridiculed, but there is still a lot of ignorance. Teaching more people about disability is important. The Paralympic Games is virtually our only media exposure, outside of this opportunity once every four years you never see our sport on television, and that's part of the reason why nobody knows about Para sport. But the more we can talk about it, the more it will become known and the less fear people will have of it. If we can achieve this, then people with or without disabilities will realise that they can achieve things. Thanks to my disability, I've had the chance to live an unbelievable life. I've lived some amazing and intense moments and I've met some fantastic people. It's like a victory over life." (telestar.fr, 02 Dec 2020)

At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro her gold medal in the 52kg category made her the first French judoka of either gender to have won three Paralympic medals in the sport, having previously won silver at the 2004 and 2008 Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2021)

At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro she became the first female French judoka to compete at four Paralympic Games, and the second French judoka of either gender to achieve the feat after Gerald Rollo competed in judo at his fourth Paralympic Games in 2008. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Apr 2021)