Marie Bochet, the greatest French paralympic skier

A four time paralympic champion, Marie Bochet represents an image of excellence for athletes. Known for her kindness but also for her perfectionism, she lets no detail go unnoticed on the slope. This is what enables her to be one of the best paralympic skiers on the world stage.

A champion from Savoie

A Beaufortin native, Marie took to skiing when she was at nursery school. She started her first competitions with non-disabled people. In 2006, when she started secondary school, Marie joined the Albertville Handisport club, and then the French skiing Federation. This is the first time a disabled athlete was accepted. Marie talks confidently about her childhood disability, a malformation of her left forearm. She never looked on it as a weakness.

When she was just 18, Marie found herself competing at the Vancouver Paralympic Games. Four years later, she picked up 4 gold medals at Sotchi. When she was 20, she took gold in the 4 events: downhill, super-combined, Super-G and giant Slalom. This is an unprecedented achievement for the French team. She is the first French athlete to amass such an impressive amount of medals at the Paralympic Games.

A specialist in technical disciplines, in particular in the slalom at the start of her career, she is today a complete skier who knows no bounds.

In 2016, she won the Grand slam by amassing wins in all her races. She won the Cristal globe as well as 4 “small” Cristal globes in the downhill, slalom, giant slalom and super-G events. She even pushes for perfection going as far as to amass 17 victories out of 17 world cup races during the 2015-2016 season.

A healthy mind in a healthy body

Marie is obviously a sports woman. But she was also determined to do well in her studies. She didn’t hesitate to change her time table to combine physical training and competitions with her school calendar. In fact, she obtained her bac ES (economics and social sciences high school diploma) in 2013 with distinction. Today, she studies at Sciences Po Paris for a diploma adapted for top-level athletes.

Fun facts about Marie
In 2014, she was named Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur alongside Martin Fourcade.
In the same year, she won an award at the Laureus Sports Awards, the most prestigious ceremony in the sporting calendar.
In 2016, she joined the French military skiing team.
Marie has shared the secret to her success: large portions of the Beaufort cheese produced by her parents.

Her successes

Four-time champion at the Sotchi Paralympic Games 2014
15 world champion paralympic titles in 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017
67 victories at the World Cup
5 big Cristal globes
13 small Cristal globes

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