Dimitri Jozwicki, para-athlete: “Believe in your dreams...”
Dimitri Jozwicki, a sprinter sponsored by Natixis Investment Managers, already boasts an impressive track record. An occupational therapist by training, he’s set his sights on the Paralympic Games Paris 2024 and a possible medal. He tells us all about it in a video.
Dimitri was 13 when he learned that he had a Chiari malformation and cerebral palsy. This was also when the triple exploit of the sprinter Christophe Lemaitre – who won three gold medals at the European Athletics Championships in 2010 – enabled him to discover, with his twin brother, this athletic discipline.
After joining the world of Paralympic sport in 2016, he has already built up a fine collection of trophies: world finalist in the T38 category 100m in Dubai in 2019, and European vice-champion in the T38 100m in 2021 and 4th place in the Tokyo Paralympic Games.
In his ‘non-sporting’ life, Dimitri is an occupational therapist by training. He is also deeply committed to raising awareness of disability in schools: “I try to convey to children who are not disabled a certain notion of support, of reaching out to others. I try to encourage them to discover what exactly is wrong with a disabled child rather than making fun of them,” he says, pointing out that these young people will grow into the adults who, in the future, will build a society capable of welcoming and including people with disabilities.
In order to set off on the adventure of the Paralympic Games and be able to reconcile his professional and sporting lives, Dimitri has entered into a ‘professional integration agreement’ that allows him to free up time from work and focus on his goal of winning a medal. And, for him, the support he receives from Natixis Investment Managers is decisive: "When you're putting the final touches to your preparation, in the last round of training, when things get complicated, it helps enormously to feel supported by other people, by employees and companies. That's what really helps me to go all the way and give it everything I’ve got!”
Dimitri defines himself as a great optimist who likes to believe in his dreams. “I'm not merely an athlete, I'm Dimitri. And Dimitri is the one who runs; he isn’t a robot programmed to run. It's important for me to do what I do and to be consistent with my values." And we could add: always believe in yourself and never give up!