“When we had a leg amputated at 18, following an accident during my first job, it wasn’t just a cruciate ligament operation that was going to put me down.” The very smiling and sunny Dimitri Pavadé, Paralympic vice-champion in long jump (T64 category) in Tokyo, has seen others.
From his accident on the docks in Reunion Island in 2007 to his injury in June 2023 during a valid competition in Toulouse, the athlete exploded to the high level in just a few years and is among the executives of the French athletics team Paralympic, at 34, and only eight years of athletics behind him. Eight months after his operation on the anterior cruciate ligaments of his right leg, his leg amputated below the knee, Dimitri Pavadé has just resumed training. He told 20 minutes his last months between rehabilitation and reathletics, his eternal smile on his lips and his unwavering morale of steel.
Tell me about your injury. What happened ?
Dimitri Pavade : I made a bad push before jumping. I had a new blade for two and a half months. And the alignment of this blade means that if you are not positioned when the blade returns, it goes backwards. When I crushed the blade with my takeoff leg and it kicked back, it sent me backwards while with the speed, my body shifted forward. My knee, with the hyperextension due to the impulse, remained behind.
So your injury is due to your blade?
Oh well yes! The blade I had was made for grown-ups. There are two sizes available. I had cut it but it was still too big. I was really out of step with the size of my pelvis. I was really higher on one side, I had a very high, too high cadence. I was thinking a lot about how to run. Today, I have the small blade, much more suited to my height (1m74). And when I run, it’s natural.
I had realized it before this competition but when my sponsor sent it to me, I didn’t know there were two sizes so I just said to myself “I’m going to have to get used to this”. In fact from the start, if I had had the right blade, I wouldn’t have hurt myself.
How do you deal with this injury at the moment?
This is the first since I became a high-level athlete (2018). As I jumped, I realized something was wrong. At first I thought the prosthesis had come loose a little and that I had slipped in the prosthesis. But when I landed, I thought my knee had dislocated. As I fell back into the sand, I didn’t look at my knee, I touched it first. Sensing that it hadn’t rotated or gone off axis, I looked. But as I bent and straightened my knee, I felt a big gunshot and I told my coach that I couldn’t jump anymore. My knee swelled immediately, to the point that I could no longer put on my prosthesis.
The next day, I took the plane for the French team’s training course to prepare for the para athletic worlds. And when I arrived at Insep, I had exams: the cruciate ligaments and the meniscus were affected. Immediately, on July 17, I had surgery. It was very quick. I continued with rehabilitation until the beginning of September. And then, sessions with my physiotherapist, and it went very, very quickly.
Postoperatively, I did squats after a month, I walked without a crutch, I did press with my other leg. I had the wires removed very early and it’s been re-athletics ever since. I lost some muscle mass on my amputated leg but I expected worse. They took ligaments from the quad to repair my cruciates, so we had to regain all the muscular strength at that level.
This injury must have been hard just a few days before the World Athletics Championships in Paris?
Yes, not participating a little but I had fun supporting the French team from the stands. I was there every day, I was part of the group, I slept with them in the hotel.
Did you also feel afraid of missing the Paralympic Games?
Not really. I was immediately told that I was on schedule to recover. As in addition, I quickly went faster than expected in my rehabilitation, I had no time to doubt.
At five months post-op, I was in great shape. I had already crossed several barriers of apprehension. So no, I had no doubts about going to the Games. I had doubts about my ability to come back. Some exercises were painful, I had moments where I gave everything I had and I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t perform the requested movements and I was in pain. This was the case during my rehabilitation phase at the end of last year.
When did you start jumping?
Only at the beginning of March. Before I did a series of bodybuilding and muscle strengthening sessions. I ate it until December! In January, I started running without intensity. February, I was able to really start to increase the intensity and in March, I returned to 100%. Initially, I was supposed to re-sprint in February and not jump again until April. But I’m in good shape, so we decided to postpone.
My first jumping session at the beginning of March was a little frustrating because the blade is soft, I can’t gain height like I did before. I felt a little pain when extending but my stump did not swell. It’s really reassuring because the operation is really successful and the form is there. I run very fast, the sensations are very good. It had been eight months since I last jumped. I can’t wait for sure!
After this first session it was not focused on technique but rather on finding the sensations of jumping. Besides, I won’t jump with this blade. This was to spare the ligaments, so as not to strain my leg after the operation. But I ordered two harder ones which will allow me to jump higher and in the meantime, I’m going to modify it a little to make it a little stiffer. Being an orthoprosthetist and a Paralympic athlete is a pretty perfect combo, yes!
What are your next deadlines? Do you already have your qualification for the Games?
No way. I’m heading to the world championships in Japan in May. I’m going straight into the hard part! I need a top 4 to qualify for the Games. Otherwise then, I would have the Charléty meeting in June and the France in Albi in July. But I’m very, very confident. When I want something, I get it. The Games are not an option for me so I do everything to be there. And keep my silver medal. Because Markus Rehm is another dimension.
Were there any moments more complicated than others mentally?
When I had my leg amputated at 18, following an accident during my first job, it wasn’t just a cruciate ligament operation that was going to knock me out. I managed to come out of the amputation stronger, so I have the mental resources. I have never had a mental trainer in my career, I don’t feel the need for one. I am surrounded enough: my family, my friends, my cats, my rabbit. Never change a winning team !
When you were injured, did you think about the pain of your amputation?
No, that had nothing to do with it. When the forklift passed over my leg, I didn’t feel anything. So there, yes. I thought my knee was upside down. And then, I was well surrounded, my loved ones, my coaches, the people of the federation. Everyone told me “you have time, we’re here”.
Is there a particular flavor to these home Games?
Already participating in the Paralympic Games is truly exceptional. A big wow! I feel that I am changing dimension also in terms of media coverage with my sponsors. It’s exciting, pleasant, and makes you want to be there even more. To prepare for it to give the best possible show to the French.