KYLIAN PORTAL

Kylian Portal fulfilled his brother’s greatest wish when they shared the podium at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris.

Kylian won bronze as older brother Alex claimed silver in the S13 freestyle in the French capital. That came a year after the pair occupied the same rostrum at the World Para Swimming Championships in 2023, where Alex won gold and Kylian came third.

Alex said his dream was competing with his brother on the biggest stage of all with the pair adding to their silverware in front of a home crowd at La Défense Arena. “Each time I win a medal, I have the feeling that Alex is prouder for me than he is for himself when he wins,” Kylian told rfi.fr.

Father Frederic was among a 20-strong group of family and friends supporting the duo. “We would never have believed that the two of them would be on the same podium,” he told RFI. “It was magical.”

Kylian followed in the slipstream of his grandmother - who was president of the Le Pecq club – as well as his sister, aunt and brother.

Both men live with ocular albinism which causes visual impairment, meaning they cannot see clearly or perceive depth or distances, which can affect their turns and finishes.

Kylian wasn’t so keen when he was young though before being inspired by his siblings, telling Ouest-France: “I didn’t like cold water when I was little. Then, I saw my brother and sister do big competitions, so it made me want to do like them.”