4 August 2023
Yannick always loved sport. From a young age he was active, especially enjoying cycling and being outside in the French countryside. He began competing in triathlons aged just 14, won his first European Junior Championship and was soon competing at elite level for the French national team.
In 2004, Yannick had a cycling accident while training in the French Alps and was left with life-changing injuries, including a partial paralysis in his right arm. Some people might have been put off competing or even playing sport at this point, but not Yannick. In fact, this spurred him on even more and after rethinking his approach. He decided to take up parasports, which are competitive games that are designed specifically for athletes with disabilities, and in 2013 entered the world of paratriathlon.
Paratriathlon was accepted for inclusion at the Rio 2016 Paralympic games and is a discipline which includes a 750-metre swim, a 20 kilometre bike (hand bike/tandem) and a five kilometre run (racing wheelchair). With his overall experience in triathlons and passion for sport, Yannick felt like this would be the ideal activity for him.
A routine medical examination reveals new obstacles
Yannick was soon excelling in paratriathlon, winning an impressive number of medals and eventually making it all the way to competing at the Rio Paralympics. However, it was not an easy process for Yannick, as he explains what happened to him in early 2016, just months before the games.
“I had a routine medical examination, as all competing athletes do on a regular basis, and whilst everything seemed normal, the cardiologist thought my LDL (bad) cholesterol levels were very high,” explains Yannick. “High levels of LDL cholesterol can increase your risk of heart attack or stroke, so my cardiologist sent me for a scan to find out more.”
As someone competing in elite sport is usually so healthy, exercising daily and eating a nutritious diet, the scan results were unexpected: 90% of his coronary arteries were obstructed, which could’ve caused him to have a heart attack at any moment. To say he was surprised was an understatement:
“I felt like I was competing at my very best level! I was preparing for the Tokyo games and enjoying my first races of the season, everything was going well,” recalls Yannick. “To be then told this is not ok, we’re going to have to intervene and treat this immediately, it was a complete surprise.”
Yannick needed urgent treatment to repair his arteries, clear the obstructions and give him the best chance to continue his sporting career. He underwent a procedure called percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) and had four stents implanted into his arteries, with another one implanted a year later. These tiny scaffolds of metal implanted in his coronary arteries were holding the walls of the arteries open so they were not blocked and blood could flow more smoothly.
Winning spirit
After undergoing two PCI procedures and having five SYNERGY™ stents implanted, Yannick began to doubt if he would make it to Tokyo, for which he had been training so hard. He was therefore delighted when his cardiologists told him that he should be able to make it. He quickly resumed training and even had to be told to slow down at one point by his medical team.
“After the procedure I felt great, which also surprised me as I felt better than ever. I was running faster, felt stronger on the bike and in the pool.”
Yet Yannick still had a frustrating few months where he had to wait to get the all clear from his doctors and the French national authorities that he would be allowed to compete for his country in the Paralympics. Even through all of this, he continued to train, work hard and keep a positive outlook. Just one day after he was officially allowed to compete again, he travelled to the UK and recorded second place in a paratriathlon – which allowed him to compete in Rio, representing the French national team. Yannick was overjoyed.
“My sporting career has not been a long quiet river or a smooth road, but I’ve kept working and kept positive to be able to pursue my goals and push myself,” said Yannick. “It is thanks to medical progress and to the wonderful doctors who took care of me that I was able to keep pursuing these passions and live my life 100%.”
Yannick has continued to compete at the top level since 2016 and is continuing to do well. Last year he was second in the World Paratriathlon Cup in Turkey and his current goal is to reach the 2024 Paralympic Games in France, his home country.
“I am determined to make it to 2024, competing in front of my home crowd would be a dream come true,” explains Yannick. “Until then I will keep working hard and pushing, and I want to show others that you should never give up. I am an example of someone who adapted their dream to make it happen and I encourage everyone to do the same.”
Hear more from Yannick here: