Cécile Hernandez is a French para-snowboarder and four-time Paralympic medallist, with a gold medal from Beijing 2022, a silver medal from

Sochi 2014 The 2014 Winter Olympics, officially called the XXII Olympic Winter Games () and commonly known as Sochi 2014 (), were an international winter multi-sport event that was held from 7 to 23 February 2014 in Sochi, Russia. Opening ro ...

and both a silver and a bronze from

PyeongChang 2018 The 2018 Winter Olympics (), officially the XXIII Olympic Winter Games (; ) and also known as PyeongChang 2018 (), were an international winter multi-sport event held between 9 and 25 February 2018 in Pyeongchang County, South Ko ...

. She competes for the teams and , as well as the French national Paralympic team; outside sport, she is a

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement official who enforces customs laws. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (1999-20 ...

journalist and writer.

Life and career

Hernandez began her sporting career as a BMX racer in international competition before discovering snowboarding. On 21 October 2002 she experienced an attack of

multiple sclerosis Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease resulting in damage to myelinthe insulating covers of nerve cellsin the brain and spinal cord. As a demyelinating disease, MS disrupts the nervous system's ability to Action potential, transmit ...

that paralysed her legs for two months. As a result, she stopped sport and took refuge in writing, publishing two books for and working for

Europe 1 Europe 1, (''Europe un'') formerly known as Europe nº 1, is a privately owned radio station created in 1955. It was owned and operated by Lagardère News, a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group, it was one of the leading radio broadcasting s ...

(from 2011) and from 2012, covering the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

in London. In May 2012, Hernandez arranged an endurance race for both disabled and able-bodied athletes, travelling from

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

bicycle A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike, push-bike or cycle, is a human-powered transport, human-powered or motorized bicycle, motor-assisted, bicycle pedal, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, with two bicycle wheel, wheels attached to a ...

and

kayak ] A kayak is a small, narrow human-powered watercraft typically propelled by means of a long, double-bladed paddle. The word ''kayak'' originates from the Inuktitut word '' qajaq'' (). In British English, the kayak is also considered to be ...

. Then, in 2013, when she happened to try snowboarding again in the

French Alps The French Alps are the portions of the Alps mountain range that stand within France, located in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur regions. While some of the ranges of the French Alps are entirely in France, others, such a ...

, she was spotted by a member of the French para-snowboarding team. She was selected for the Paralympic snowboarding team for the Sochi Games in February 2014, with just over a month to prepare, but was encouraged by her performance at the World Para Snowboard World Cup the previous month. She won a silver Paralympic medal at Sochi, with a

snowboard cross Snowboard cross, also known as boardercross, is a snowboard competition in which four to six competitors race down a course. Snowboard cross courses are typically quite narrow and include cambered turns, various types of jumps, berms, rollers, ...

time of 2:07.31, and was named a

knight of the National Order of Merit A knight is a person granted an honorary title of a knighthood by a head of state (including the pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church, or the country, especially in a military capacity. The concept of a knighthood ...

by then-president

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

in June 2014. In the 2014–15 season, Hernandez won the grand slam with all stages of the World Para Snowboard World Cup in both snowboard cross and banked slalom; leading her first full season gained her a Crystal Globe and she ended the season at La Molina crowned world champion in banked slalom and with a silver medal in snowboard cross. In 2015–16, still competing for the team, she won 10 races in the European and World Cups and 2 further Crystal Globes — a for leading the World Para Snowboard rankings and a for first place in the banked slalom — as well as the silver medal for snowboard cross. On 4 February 2017 at Big White, she won another silver medal in snowboard cross, winning the banked slalom silver 3 days later. At the end of the 2016–17 season the following month, with 7 spots on the podium, including 5 victories, she won a third and both for snowboard cross and banked slalom. She joined the team on 20 January 2017 with the aim of travelling to

PyeongChang Pyeongchang ( , ; in full, ''Pyeongchang-gun'' ) is a county in the province of Gangwon-do, South Korea, located in the Taebaek Mountains region. It is home to several Buddhist temples, including Woljeongsa. It is about east southeast of Seo ...

as a part of the French Paralympic team for the 2018 Winter games, where she won bronze in the

and silver in the banked slalom. She won the silver medal in the women's dual banked slalom SB-LL1 event at the 2021 World Para Snow Sports Championships held in Lillehammer, Norway. She also won the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross SB-LL1 event. Hernandez is classified as a SB-LL1 snowboarder. Hernandez learned days before her competition at the

2022 Winter Paralympics The 2022 Winter Paralympics (), also known as XIII Paralympic Winter Games, commonly known as Beijing 2022 (), were an international winter multi-sport parasports event held in Beijing, China, from 4 to 13 March 2022. This was the 13th Winter ...

that she was allowed to compete. This was previously not permitted as there are no SB-LL1 events for female snowboarders in the snowboarding programme. She won the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross SB-LL2 event. She also competed in the women's banked slalom SB-LL2 event.

Personal life

Hernandez is married, to Frédéric, with a daughter, Victoire-Eléonore.

Works

* 'War of Nerves'' Monaco: Rocher, 2008. , * 'What's she doing mummy?'' Monaco: Rocher, 2009. ,

References

External links

*
Cécile Hernandez
at

World Para Snowboard The International Paralympic Committee (IPC; ) is an international non-profit organisation and the global governing body for the Paralympic Movement. The IPC organizes the Paralympic Games and functions as the international federation for nin ...

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez, Cecile 1974 births Living people French female snowboarders Paralympic snowboarders for France Paralympic medalists in snowboarding Paralympic gold medalists for France Paralympic silver medalists for France Paralympic bronze medalists for France Snowboarders at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Snowboarders at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Snowboarders at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2014 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2018 Winter Paralympics Medalists at the 2022 Winter Paralympics Knights of the Ordre national du Mérite Le Figaro people 21st-century French sportswomen