“I finished three seconds behind the pace-setter!” Jules Oestreich, 16, stuck out his chest after finishing the slalom organized by the French Ski School (ESF) in the French Alps Chamrousse resort. At the finish line, he met Eelke Adriaensen, an 18-year-old who beamed as she said she thought she had earned the “gilded or silver arrow.” This timed slalom was just another training session for the teens in colorful ski suits who hit the slopes every Wednesday, on weekends and during school holidays. Their hard work paid off. They became the 2025 French champions in the para alpine skiing category, which is reserved for athletes with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities.
“When I was little, at the ESF, I felt a bit left out. Here, I fit in. Everyone cheers each other on, no one is trying to beat you down,” said Adriaensen. Her confidence stems from this supportive environment, she said, despite her “difficulty approaching others” due to autism spectrum disorder. For Oestreich, who has a genetic disorder causing intellectual, sensory and autistic traits, “sport has been a real holistic therapy, for coordination, executive functions, planning,” said his mother, Sรฉverine Faye.
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