A year after Paralympic gold, Lucas Mazur returns to Tokyo to defend his world titles (2017 and 2019). Partnered with Faustin Noel in mixed doubles, he hopes to confirm the Paralympic silver medal he won with his partner in the summer of 2021.
Less than two hours later, Lucas Mazur revealed himself on the final day of the Games. The double world champion then became almost unknown, he won first Paralympic champion title in singlesBefore catching up Silver medal with Faustin Noel in mixed doubles. “After Tokyo, the trouble was that my phone kept ringing, Smiling 24-year-old man with ankle deformity following stroke (SL4 category). I felt like the whole world had my number and I wanted to disappear. » A kind of recognition he learned to handle. Almost to forget, because he resumed himself to other goals.
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Lucas Mazur, The Sacred Harvest
In this case, the world starts on Tuesday … in Tokyo. In the same room where his beautiful memories are kept, Mazur intends to defend his two crowns from 2017 and 2019. “Three years without a world championship… It’s strange to hold onto a title for so long, when I wanted to play it again as soon as possible. The Frenchman observes. I want to show the competition that even if I’m shocked at the Games, I can deliver good little blows. »
Despite a troubled start to the season, injury (adductor injury) and a covid episode forced him to cancel two trips to Brazil and Canada. “It worried me a bit, I had the feeling that I wasn’t coming back enough for Paris 2024”, the Masur mask capitalized on the other three made. He won all three Opens in singles in Spain, Ireland and Thailand; The French won two out of three in mixed doubles. “We have this ambition to win our first world medal, He hammers. It was a medal we were hoping for after struggling at the Games and Worlds. »
Mazur returned to the trainer who had trained him
Faustin Noel, 28, who plays in the same category due to a mild neuromotor disability, his brain has poor control of his right leg, recalls that when they started playing together in 2017, they stumbled in the final quarter-finals. “We haven’t found our marks yet, Renais remembers. I was injured in 2019. A nice throwback when it’s time to make sure we’re on top of the world. »
Both have progressed since then. He continues to prepare between Bordeaux and his club Chambly. “Compete in interclub competitions (with valid ones), it allowed me to put my foot down, not just for myself, but for my teammates. It’s a different approach that I like and want to bring to my stone building », Mazur argues. Faustin Noel continues training in this private cell built around him. “I want to continue to dig deeper into who I am and how I work, so that I can be more confident on the pitch and be more solid in moments of discomfort”, she adds, convinced she has the means to make her first individual podium appearance since Tokyo. All three Paralympic medalists do not appear in the Worlds list, with two Chinese absent and the Indonesian content with two doubles.
“The ideal is to improve the game strategies so that they can be adjusted, and if we make a mistake, we can modify them during the match, Mazur projects himself. I want to see things develop in our mixed collaboration, we can work together more often, because today, distance remains a big obstacle to our daily preparation. » The youngster knows that curiosity is essential to stay on top until the Paris Games. He took advantage of his injury to return to the sources of his commitment to para-badminton, returning to the coach who trained him in Borges, and visiting new structures such as Sandrine Bernard and Nantes. A way to reinvent yourself to move forward.
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