have easily divided us, but it made our team even more united. Tere’s a sense of belonging and understanding that I always feel when I walk onto a Paralympic pool deck. Everyone is facing their own challenges, there for the same reasons and ready to change perceptions of people with disabilities by showing the world what they can do. And together, we become a family. I couldn’t
have done any of this on my own. None of us are on this journey alone. I am so blessed to have the support system I have with my incredible
family, friends,
coaches, teammates—everyone who played a role in helping me make my dream a reality. And when our flag rose and the anthem started, all those emotions flooded me. All my best days and worst days, everyone who had been by my side, everyone
FELIX DUCHAMPT ’15
time fully to triathlon, which at the Olympic level consists of a 1,500-meter swim, 40-kilometer bike and 10-kilometer run, he competed on the cross country, track and field, and swim teams during his time at Queens. His athletic journey came full circle when Duchampt
LOOKING TO PARIS By Jordan Grantz ’22
Standing on a floating pontoon overlooking Tokyo Bay, Felix Duchampt ’15 anxiously, yet thoroughly, adjusted his cap. Next, he meticulously placed his goggles over his eyes in preparation for his Olympic debut. Tis was the moment he had worked for. Duchampt, who represented Romania at the 2020
Tokyo Olympics in triathlon this past summer, grew up as an athlete, playing many sports including handball and rugby. But his smaller size made him a better fit for sports that didn’t require tackling competitors 40 pounds heavier than him. Naturally, he shifted his focus to a sport that would play to his lean, 135-pound build. “Many types of bodies and many physiques can succeed [in triathlon] because you can be maybe a better swimmer and the worst runner,” explained Duchampt, “or in my case, not such a good swimmer but better on the bike and the run.” A year after he started competing in triathlon at the
age of 16, Duchampt found himself on the podium at the French National Championships. But before devoting his
became a volunteer assistant coach with Queens’ triathlon team in 2015. When he wasn’t logging the athletes’ times, he was training with them. After graduating from Queens with a master’s in communication, he turned his focus to professional triathlon and spent the years leading up to the Olympics competing in elite international triathlons. Because of his dual citizenship with France and Romania, the Ceyrat, France, native, decided to represent Romania instead of France, whose national flag he’d previously raced under. With the shift, Duchampt received more funding and support than he had previously. As for his performance in Tokyo, Duchampt said he
had a pretty good start. “Somehow at the buoy, I got a little beaten up and ended up going out of the water in one of the last positions. I think there [were] only a few guys behind me and then on the bike we were in a group of about 15 guys, but we never succeeded to catch the lead group,” recalled Duchampt. “I knew at that point the race was over for a good position.” Tough he wasn’t thrilled with his 36th-place
performance, Duchampt is using his Olympic experience for motivation as he trains and prepares for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in his native country.
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