FRANCE: Don Bosco school graduate wins 2 silver medals in Paris 2024 Paralympics
Athlete faces obstacles and delivers message of hope
(MissionNewswire) Ewoud Vromant, a Belgian cyclist who won two silver medals in the Paris 2024 Paralympics, is a graduate and past pupil of Don Bosco School in Ghent, Belgium. Vromant had one leg amputated 10 years ago as a result of a tumor. Vromant believes there is a “solution to each problem” and has faced this unexpected obstacle in his life head-on.
While the Don Bosco School was much farther from home than other schools, he chose to attend. Today, Vromant has good memories of his time at the Don Bosco School, especially the mandatory sports hour during the lunch break. He spent considerable time on the soccer fields and athletic track. He loved extracurricular activities including cycling trips.
As a child, he tried all sports including judo, tennis, swimming and soccer. Vromant said, “It’s hard to think of a sport I’ve never tried.”
At the age of 22, Vromant dedicated himself to the triathlon. His dream was to become an Iron Man. During his preparation in 2012, he was diagnosed with leg cancer at the age of 28. His treatment included amputation, chemotherapy and rehabilitation. But even then his passion for sports did not stop.
During rehabilitation, he came into contact with someone who accompanied runners with prostheses and Vromant started running for pleasure. It soon became clear that he wasn’t very good at running with a prosthesis, which led him to resume cycling.
Since then, he has been a Belgian, European and World Paracycling champion. While participating in the Tokyo Paralympics, he was disqualified because the judges didn’t believe he was sufficiently on the bike saddle. Yet, he had shattered his own record. This year, he made a comeback and is happy with his achievements.
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