Cécile Hernandez

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 and both a silver and a bronze from PyeongChang 2018. She competes for the teams Les Angles and France Douanes,[1][2] as well as the French national Paralympic team; outside sport, she is a customs officer journalist and writer.[1][2]

Cécile Hernandez
Personal information
NationalityFrench
Born (1974-06-20) 20 June 1974
Perpignan, France
Medal record
Women's para snowboarding
Representing  France
Winter Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place2022 BeijingSnowboard cross SB-LL2
Silver medal – second place2014 SochiSnowboard cross
Silver medal – second place2018 PyeongchangBanked slalom SB-LL1
Bronze medal – third place2018 PyeongchangSnowboard cross SB-LL1
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2015 La MolinaBanked slalom SB-LL1
Silver medal – second place2015 La MolinaSnowboard cross SB-LL1
Silver medal – second place2017 Big WhiteBanked slalom SB-LL1
Silver medal – second place2017 Big WhiteSnowboard cross SB-LL1

Life and career

Hernandez began her sporting career as a BMX racer in international competition[1][3] before discovering snowboarding. On 21 October 2002 she experienced an attack of multiple sclerosis that paralysed her legs for two months.[3][4][5] As a result, she stopped sport and took refuge in writing, publishing two books for Éditions du Rocher and working for Europe 1 (from 2011) and Le Figaro from 2012, covering the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.

In May 2012, Hernandez arranged an endurance race for both disabled and able-bodied athletes, travelling from Lyon to Bordeaux by bicycle and kayak.[3] Then, in 2013, when she happened to try snowboarding again in the French Alps, she was spotted by a member of the French para-snowboarding team.[3] 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.[3] She won a silver Paralympic medal at Sochi, with a snowboard cross time of 2:07.31,[1] and was named a knight of the National Order of Merit by then-president François Hollande in June 2014.[1]

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.[6] In 2015–16, still competing for the Les Angles team, she won 10 races in the European and World Cups and 2 further Crystal Globes — a gros globe for leading the World Para Snowboard rankings and a petit globe for first place in the banked slalom — as well as the silver medal for snowboard cross.[7]

On 4 February 2017 at Big White, she won another silver medal in snowboard cross,[8] winning the banked slalom silver 3 days later.[9] At the end of the 2016–17 season the following month, with 7 spots on the podium, including 5 victories, she won a third gros globe and both petits globes for snowboard cross and banked slalom.[10]

She joined the France Douanes team on 20 January 2017 with the aim of travelling to PyeongChang as a part of the French Paralympic team for the 2018 Winter games,[11][2] where she won bronze in the snowboard cross[12] and silver in the banked slalom.[13]

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.[14][15] She also won the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross SB-LL1 event.[16][17]

Hernandez is classified as a SB-LL1 snowboarder. Hernandez learned days before her competition at the 2022 Winter Paralympics that she was allowed to compete.[18] This was previously not permitted as there are no SB-LL1 events for female snowboarders in the snowboarding programme.[19][20] She won the gold medal in the women's snowboard cross SB-LL2 event.[21][22] She also competed in the women's banked slalom SB-LL2 event.[22]

Personal life

Hernandez is married, to Frédéric, with a daughter, Victoire-Eléonore.[23]

Works
  • La guerre des nerfs : 33 ans, sclérose en plaques [War of Nerves], Monaco: Rocher, 2008. ISBN 9782268064444, OCLC 213376314
  • Qu'est-ce qu'elle fait maman ? [What's she doing mummy?], Monaco: Rocher, 2009. ISBN 9782268068312, OCLC 465087793

References
  1. "Athlete bio: HERNANDEZ-CERVELLON Cecile". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  2. "Top départ pour les Jeux Paralympiques avec l'Équipe France Douane" [Starting signal for the Paralympic Games with the French Customs team]. France Douanes. 7 March 2018. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  3. "Cécile Hernandez-Cervellon : "La maladie m'a forgé un mental de guerrière"" [Cécile Hernandez-Cervellon: 'The illness gave me a warrior mentality']. L'Équipe (in French). 20 December 2016. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  4. "Athlete Profile: Cecile HERNANDEZ". PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. Archived from the original on 14 March 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  5. "3 Athletes With Multiple Sclerosis to Watch for at the Paralympics". The Mighty. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  6. "Snowboard: deux médailles, dont un titre pour Cécile" [Snowboard: 2 medals, including a title for Cécile]. Handisport (in French). 10 March 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  7. "Bilan 2016 : 7 globes et 28 victoires Coupe de Monde pour Les Bleus" [2016 total: 7 globes and 28 World Cup victories for Les Bleus]. Ski Handisport (in French). 4 April 2016. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  8. "Cécile Hernandez et Maxime Montaggioni vice-champions du monde en snowboard cross" [Cécile Hernandez and Maxime Montaggioni World Vice-Champions in snowboard cross]. Cœur Handisport (in French). 5 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  9. "Maxime Montaggioni champion du monde en banked slalom Cécile Hernandez en argent" [Maxime Montaggioni World Champion in banked slalom, Cécile Hernandez wins silver]. Cœur Handisport (in French). 8 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  10. "CdM : triple globe de cristal pour Cécile Hernandez en snowboard" [World Cup: Crystal Globe triple for Cécile Hernandez in snowboard]. Cœur Handisport (in French). 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 16 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  11. "Cécile Hernandez (parasnowboard)". France Douanes. 20 January 2017. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
  12. "Medals and Ranking — Women's Snowboard Cross SB-LL1". PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  13. "Medals and Ranking — Women's Banked Slalom SB-LL1". PyeongChang Organizing Committee for the 2018 Olympic & Paralympic Winter Games. 16 March 2018. Archived from the original on 17 March 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2018.
  14. "Lisa Bunschoten trails, falls, recovers and wins third straight world title". Paralympic.org. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  15. Houston, Michael (14 January 2022). "United States win three snowboard golds at World Para Snow Sports Championships". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  16. "Canada's Tyler Turner beats 'best of the best' for first World Championships gold". 21 January 2022. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  17. Burke, Patrick (21 January 2022). "Pedersen clinches third gold of World Para Snow Sports Championships in Lillehammer". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 21 January 2022.
  18. "Legal fight won, Hernandez and Huckaby enjoy success on the snow". Reuters. 7 March 2022. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  19. "Winter Paralympics: Para-snowboarders 'too disabled' for Games win battle to compete". BBC Sport. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  20. Burke, Patrick (6 March 2022). "Hernandez and Huckaby lead women's SB-LL2 snowboard cross qualifying at Beijing 2022". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  21. Burke, Patrick (7 March 2022). "Hernandez takes snowboard cross gold at Beijing 2022 Winter Paralympics". InsideTheGames.biz. Retrieved 7 March 2022.
  22. "Snowboarding Results Book" (PDF). 2022 Winter Paralympics. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 March 2022. Retrieved 12 March 2022.
  23. "Maman et handicap : Cécile, mère extra ordinaire" [A mother and disabled: Cécile, an extra ordinary mother]. Côté Famille. 5 January 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2018.
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