Reigning Paralympic champion and the only Frenchman to have won an athletics title in Japan after his Tokyo 2021 win, Charles-Antoine Kouakou has his eyes set on a second gold medal. The 400m specialist with an intellectual disability will be aiming high in this year's Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
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00:00My name is Shantou Kouakou, I am an Olympic Paralympic athlete, 400m Paralympic champion
00:16in Tokyo in 2021.
00:19I took part in the Paralympic Games in Paris in 2024 at the Stade de France.
00:29It was my first time in France at home.
00:47You have to say that in your head, it's a gold medal.
00:51You can't think of anything else.
00:53You have to say that in your head, it's a gold medal.
00:55You can't think.
00:57I know that this year it's a little harder, but it's different.
01:03Why is it a little harder?
01:04Because there are people who say, how did you start this year?
01:08It's not hard, it's different.
01:11But I still feel it.
01:28How do I prepare for the Games?
01:30I prepare with my coach.
01:34My coach prepares me.
01:36He gives me strong and specific directions.
01:44He gives me everything.
01:46I have to be well prepared for the Games.
01:58I'm Vincent Clarico.
02:00I'm the coach of Charles-Antoine Kouakou,
02:02Paralympic champion, T20 category, in Tokyo, 400m.
02:07The complexity is to be able to make yourself understood.
02:11And something that we can't take away from Charles-Antoine
02:14is that he has a huge driving intelligence,
02:17even sometimes far superior to his father.
02:20And something that we can't take away from Charles-Antoine
02:23is that he has a huge driving intelligence,
02:25even sometimes far superior to his father.
02:28We show him things and he understands them.
02:30The difficulty is to be able to memorize them.