Screw my sport: an armchair basketball game for Céline Dumerc
In this new episode of the web series Vis mon sport, season 4, Céline Dumerc meets Grace Wembolua for a basketball game unlike any other.
10 am - Maillan Gymnasium in Le Cannet. The Hornets Le Cannet Côte d'Azur team takes the gymnasium, basket ball in hand. The passes are linked and the baskets too. On the other side of the field, Celine Dumerc watch the team evolve alongside Philippe Croizon. In his eyes, one can read admiration, but also a little apprehension. Because in a few moments, the basketball player will join them for a basketball game unlike any other.
The whistle sounds and pauses for the players. Grace Wembolua comes to meet Celine. "Ready? When you have to go, you have to go! The basketball player approaches the center of the field, attacking for a basketball chair.
Learn to master the chair
Take the speed, dribble with the ball, circumvent the opponent, aim the basket and score. Daily actions for the French basketball player. As a leader at the Landes Basketball Club, she was also the leader of the French team from 2003 to 2017, where she became the captain in 2008. She won six medals, including one silver medal at the Olympic Games. London in 2012. That same year, she was named "Athlete of the Year", becoming the first woman to win this award.
Her record is impressive and makes her the player with the most selections (more than 250) in the history of basketball. It must be said that she played matches. But today, it's not so obvious. Grace's wise advice is welcome for those who slowly learn to master the chair, to dispel apprehension and the fear of hurting themselves. After several minutes of play, Celine seems more and more comfortable and a nice complicity has settled between the two players.
Athletes first and foremost
At the age of 4, following a fire in which she lost her mother and brother, Grace Wembolua had her legs amputated. Attracted by the sport, she entered the France basketball pole at the age of 15 and is now part of the French women's handibasket team. In 2015, her team was awarded fourth place at the European Championships, and in 2016 she participated for the first time at the Paralympic Games in Rio with the French team.
"We can see it well, they play basketball. It's just great, exclaims Philippe Croizon, the initiator of the web-series with the support of Harmonie Mutuelle. They do it differently, in a chair. We show that they are first athletes, and then they are people with disabilities. "
A moment of sharing
At the end of the match, the faces are all smiles. "When I learned that I would play with Celine, I was really happy because I admire her," says Grace. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she was enjoying, that she was able to throw in the basket. It was a beautiful moment of laughter and sharing. I felt like playing with a teammate! "
For Céline, the biggest challenge was to master the chair, but the pleasure of playing quickly won. "You feel quickly more or less comfortable, but the difficulty is the control of the wheelchair, speed, travel, changes of direction, contacts, explains the basketball player. I already had the opportunity to get on an armchair, but never to make a real match. It's true that game systems are different. Besides, I still have not understood everything! (laughs)
How was the match? The third episode of Live My Sport is online. Also find the first two episodes with Jean-Philippe Gatien and Fabrice Santoro who slip into the skin of a disabled athlete. And see you on June 28th for the last meeting of the season featuring handcyclism with François Pervis and Jérôme Lambert.