Parabadminton, men’s single and double armchair (WH1)
Used to clearing unknown paths: first Breton in the senior French team then importer of parabadminton in France, David Toupé has again opened a path. In 2017, he went in search of new partners to support him in his project for the Paralympic Games (August 24 – September 5). Benefiting from an employment development contract with Insep, the training physiotherapist who became National Technical Advisor to the French Badminton Federation (FFBaD) is “80% detached and can train twice a day”.
” Motor sports “
But in addition to the technical and physical dimensions, “wheelchair parabad is also a mechanical sport. And a bit like Lewis Hamilton wouldn’t be at this level if he didn’t have one of the best F1s, so I always worked to have the best chair. But, alone in my corner, it was not progressing and I was quickly out of budget ”. The 2013 world champion from Parabad is therefore happy to see his file selected by the Airbus Handicap and Integration mission. And it is as a neighbor that the Bretillian of Saint-Méen-le-Grand, who lives in Gerde (Hautes-Pyrénées) and trains at Creps de Toulouse (Haute-Garonne), will collaborate with the aircraft manufacturer based in Blagnac, at the gates of the Pink City.
But instead of working only on the backrest of the armchair of David Toupé, paraplegic since a ski accident in 2003, Christophe Debard, director of the aircraft manufacturer’s innovation laboratory, convinced by the approach and motivation of the badiste, offers him to design a high performance wheelchair together. A technical achievement made possible thanks to Airbus Humanity Lab, an initiative that allows group employees to contribute to projects related to disability, education, the environment or humanitarian aid. The project, coordinated by the engineer and badiste William Bras – “He has, I believe, family in Brittany but he is above all the son and brother of the Michelin-starred Aveyron chefs Michel and Sébastien Bras” – thus saw the intervention 40 people, between Toulouse, Nantes, Marignane and Getafe (Spain). “Engineers, ergonomists, Airbus partners and subcontractors, who gave an hour or much more, to have today an adjustable chair, in carbon and aluminum, around ten kilos”.
High performance and handicap
The weight, one of the parameters, along with the inclination of the wheels or the positioning, which makes the difference on the ground. “Thanks to their expertise, their skills, access to cutting-edge machines and products, I now have the ideal position”, explains this father of three children, overwhelmed by this technological and human adventure. “Spending half days at Airbus was as important to me as a physical training session. It’s the best chair I’ve ever had, it allows me to be a more complete player ”.
“I want to leave a legacy. This project with Airbus should open doors to others ”.
This Airbus chair, “impossible to estimate” but probably close to those developed by the Japanese (€ 20,000), is a first version. “The adjustment system is heavy. By freezing the dimensions, we can switch to 100% carbon and gain two to three kilos. This is the objective for Paris 2024 ”.
Sharing values such as “teamwork, creativity and the search for performance” with Airbus, David Toupé “wants to leave a legacy. This project must open doors to others ”. A precursor for two Olympics, he has often wiped the plaster. Like when Air Canada damaged its chair in the middle of Paralympic qualification. Now, shaking up the prejudices according to which handicaps are incompatible with high-level sporting performances, he is reaping the fruits of his investment. Outsider in Tokyo for a double medal with the Haut-Savoyard Thomas Jakobs, his partner for three seasons, David Toupé, among the youngest in his category, thinks especially of “these Olympics at home”. There, he will want to transform carbon into gold thanks to Airbus.
