FROM A REFUGEE WITH AN AMPUTATED TIBIA TO 4 TIMES WORLD CHAMPION
My name is Jean-Baptiste Alaize (@jbalaize), I’m 28 and I’m native from Burundi (next to Rwanda). I’m now living in the South of France and I’m the quadruple long jump world champion with a disability. But, my life hasn’t been always this good...
I was 3 years old when I lost my leg during the civil war in 1993, due to machete blows. I lost my family during the Hutu and Tutsi conflict and was placed in an orphanage.
After 5 years I was adopted by loving parents, in Bonlieu-Sur-Roubion (in France).
In school, I discovered the UNSS association and loved playing football and riding a bike, on crutches or one leg. I was sure that I could never walk on both feet, again.
But I got the best gift of my life, for my 8th birthday, my first prosthesis, which allowed me to walk again.
In middle school, I began training athletics and during the first training session, I understood the concept of freedom. After 6 months, the Para- Athletics Federation selected me for the World Para-Athletics Championships. After that, I competed in the long jump competition.
PREPARING FOR TOKYO 2020
Today, I’m a Great Paralympic Athlete, the representative of France and I’m currently preparing myself for the Tokyo Olympics, in Miami. This Championship is the key moment in my life, the moment I've been waiting and preparing for.
I am using U-Exist, a prosthesis from a unique orthopedic design studio that helps me push myself further. They allow the personalization of prosthesis and orthosis to express the personality of each user. PLAY YOUR DIFFERENCE!
I am also very excited because my biopic “Run to Survive” is coming out this year. I’m so happy and proud to share my story through this biography.
"Handicap is only in the head. When you tell yourself you have a handicap, it gets stuck. Whereas if you think like everybody else, people won't even notice."
