Just like many of you, I felt ready and was looking
forward to the beginning of the 2020 triathlon season, I was eager to
race against my friends and my rivals. But since the beginning of this
pandemic, I’ve had a chance to reconnect with my community in many other
ways.

I’d
like to use this blog to share with you what the past few weeks have
been like for me. This all started when I was standing in my grocery
store, waiting for Willy, one of the workers who usually helps me to do
my shopping. As I reached out and grabbed his familiar shoulder, I
realized that something had changed, I was reluctant to touch him.

I’m
only 31 years old, but I have already dealt with my own finitude, I
lost my sight about 10 years ago. Around 57 million Americans live with a
disability, that’s about 20 percent of the population. But even during
this crisis, people with disabilities still get out of bed and move
through life despite new and unpredictable threats to our health. In
many ways, to us, nothing has changed.

Of course, while simply having a disability doesn’t by itself put someone at higher risk from corona virus, many disabled people do have specific disabilities or chronic conditions that make the illness more dangerous for them.

When
I go shopping, or when I go for a run, I need someone’s help, I need to
touch many things, and I have to remind myself to take extra steps to
remain safe and healthy. But for some of my friends, this situation is
even more complex. They can’t always isolate themselves as thoroughly as
others, because they need regular, hands-on help from other people to
do daily self-care tasks.

What
I’ve learned during the past few weeks is that the greater risks for
our community may not stem from actual disease, but from the disruptions
in services and routines it can cause. Some disabled people depend on
regular help and support from others to maintain their independence.
Aides and caregivers may become sick themselves, or the risk of catching
or spreading illness may require aides and caregivers to stay home.
This crisis reminds us that we are responsible for one another.

I
realize that I am fortunate, I am relatively healthy, I am able to work
from home, and I actually think that during this crisis many companies
will understand that they could have, and probably should have, more
flexible work policies and accommodations. But I also know that many
jobs will be lost in the coming weeks, and that just like in 2008,
people with disabilities will often be the “last ones hired and the
first ones fired”.

My
parents would probably tell you that my disability has taught me how to
live despite my fears, how to navigate a world full of potential
dangers. Through my work with the National Organization on Disability, I
have channeled some of my fear into advocacy. By organizing with
advocates and leading companies who are supporting our work, by reaching
out to elected officials with our concerns and needs, I feel useful,
and try to accomplish a bit of change that makes things better for
everyone. My hope is that in the coming weeks, we will apply the same
energy to overcome our fears and come together as a community, be there
for each other to face this pandemic.

If
I have learned one thing through my disability, it is that there is
something wonderful about human resilience, and that this quality is
within each of us.

When you think about French nationals, you probably think of a glamorous race in Nice or in Paris, but this year, it was held in Montlucon. If you don’t know where that is, don’t worry, I didn’t know either until last weekend. Montlucon is a charming city in the center of France, where the weather in October is grey, cold and rainy. The ideal conditions for someone born in Britany such as yours truly!

My guide Seb and I had lofty goals for this season, we wanted to go up
in international rankings, qualify for the Tokyo Paralympics and show
everyone that we could become one of the most competitive team on the
circuit. But 2019 was a difficult year for us, we didn’t get to race for
the French Team as much as we had hoped, we didn’t get many
opportunities to showcase our talent. So before French Nationals, we
felt as if we had something to prove to ourselves.

My best result at nationals was 4th , that was 2017. My goal was to at least finish on the podium, as close as possible to Antoine and Olivier, who recently placed 4^th at the World Championships in Lausanne and who were the clear favorites for this race. The swim was canceled, the water was polluted. This was good for Seb and I, I still have a lot of work to do to improve in the water. The format of the race became a 2.5K run, a 20K hilly bike ride and a 5K run.

The race:

Antoine
and Olivier started the run at an aggressive pace, Seb and I decided to
try to follow and see what would happen. It was very excited for me to
be able to hear their footsteps and to keep them as close as possible.
We entered T1 just behind them, but had a bad transition and lost a few
precious seconds.

Seb
before his triathlon days was a pro cyclist, I always feel very safe
behind him. The road was wet and very slippery, on a sharp left turn we
went a little wide, we were about to fall, but Seb regained control of
the tandem and simply said: “sorry about that Charles”. I later learned that another tandem crashed at that very spot, the stoker broke his femur.

Early in the second run, Seb told me: “this is when you need to think about your family Charles,
this is when your hard work pays off”. We quickly realized however that
Antoine and Olivier were too far ahead, our goal then became to protect
our second place. My first podium at Nationals was just a few steps
away! The course was technical, we finished strong with a healthy lead
on the third duo (two minutes).

The podium:

When we crossed the finish line, my mother immediately came to me and said that I looked “unwell”. She asked if I wanted something to eat. I, of course, just needed a few minutes to recover. It was wonderful to be able to share this moment with my family. The podium, the Marseillaise, the silver medal, I will never forget that feeling of joy and pride. The 2019 season ends on a beautiful note, thank you to everyone who supported me this year to pursue my dream, and a special thank you to Seb for pushing me to my limits!

Soon you will be with us, I can’t wait to meet you. For now, all I know of you is your parents, you are one lucky child! They are both such incredible human beings. I am close to your father especially, he and I did great things together. I’d like to tell you what I know about him, it’s a side of his personality that very few people got to see.  I hope that one day, you read these lines with a smile.

Thomas and I share the same values, we have the same dreams. Your father is a generous man, I’m very proud to be his friend. He taught me many things about life and myself, I know that he will share that with you as well. When I met him I was naïve and ambitious, proud and brash. He saw something in me, something that I didn’t even see myself. He took me under his wing, taught me everything he knew, helped me catalyze my energy and made me a better man.

He and I spent so much time together, doing what we love, swimming, biking and running, over and over again. We traveled to many places, won many races. We laughed and celebrated, rallied a team behind us. But your father was also there for me when we were far from the podiums, he was there for me when no one else was. Sometimes we argued, disagreed, we even fought at times. But we always respected each other.

I’ll never forget when Thomas and I raced for team France for the first time. We won that race, it was in Florida, we were so strong together that day. Your father is an incredible athlete, a great guide and one of my best friends. I always valued his opinion, cherished his friendship, it brought me a lot of success. So if you don’t mind a piece of unsolicited advice, you should do what he says, it usually pays off!

I wanted to show you this picture, it was at the 2018 NYC Triathlon. Your dad looks like Superman here doesn’t he? Do you see how strong, caring and generous he is there?

Oh, I wish you knew how happy he was when he told me that your mother was pregnant, you already changed his life. Yes, Thomas is a great guide, and he will be a wonderful father. You should be proud of him.

Social media, (this blog is no exception), tends to highlight the beautiful and shiny part of our existence. Today I’ve decided to show you another side of my journey as an athlete, one made of struggles and challenges. I’ve been through a lot this year, I feel stronger and better than ever, I hope to be able to share some of this strength with all of you.

1: What I need to change

My last triathlon of the season in Florida didn’t go as planned, Thomas and I were hoping for a podium finish, but I had a terrible time on the bike and we placed 7th. My usual reaction after a disappointing race is, everyone has bad days, this was just a fluke. But deep down I knew that this wasn’t the case. So I asked myself, why did this happen? I came up with a few things:

A: I started a new job in September, it took up a lot of my time, I couldn’t train as planned.

B: I still have some usable vision (light perception), it helps me a lot in my daily life. Over the past few months, my sight kept deteriorating, I bumped into many new obstacles, but I was in denial.

C: Since my divorce in 2017, I’ve been missing my family back in France more than usual.

D: The level keeps getting higher and higher each year, it’s tough to keep up with my competitors

E: Thomas and I didn’t handle this well, when I struggled on the bike we lost our focus

I felt terrible for weeks after this race, not just because of the disappointing finish, but because of everything else around it. Triathlon is for me a little window, a dream that I’ve been pursuing for years, an endless source of happiness and pride. But after this race, I felt as if I had lost this as well. So what did I change?

A: I had a conversation with my new boss, told her what my goals were, she was very supportive.

B: I talked about my vision loss to the people around me, it was as if a huge burden came off my back.

C: I booked flights to France for Christmas, I often forget how difficult it can be to be an emigrant. I can’t wait to catch up with my parents and my brothers. They are a big reason why I do everything I do.

D: I reminded myself that I don’t race to be the best, but to be the best possible version of myself.

E: I talked to Thomas, we learned a lot about each other, I’m convinced that we won’t make the same mistake next time something like this happens.

I don’t know if all of this will be enough, but I already feel a lot better.

“A mind that is stretched by a new experience can never go back to its old dimensions.”

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

2: How resilient one can be

I’ve always had a stoic approach to change, although I can’t control what happens to me, I can control my attitude toward this change, to a degree. Pain is a great motivator, I’ll never forget how I felt on that bike. I think about it at every workout, I remind myself that at each race, you either win or learn.

We all have an inner dialogue, a little voice that sometimes tells us that we are not good enough, that we don’t belong. It was very tempting to listen to this voice, to quit, but instead I took a little break and quieted this negative influence. It will take a lot more than this to make me quit. I love this sport more than I even imagined!

“Your worst enemy cannot harm you as much as your own unguarded thoughts.”

Buddha

3: Who your friends are

There are many people who are great to be around when times are easy, new York City is a fascinating place. But I have just a few friends who are willing to sacrifice their time and the resources they have in their life to help improve mine. Those are my real friends. I am so grateful to know all of these people who are ready to wake up at 5:30 am to swim with me in the winter, who are ready to leave their family on a beautiful Saturday to go on a 4 hour bike ride. They are the main reason why I keep doing what I do.

“I would rather walk with a friend in the dark, than alone in the light.”

Helen Keller

I hope that all of this was helpful, we are all on a difficult journey. The picture that I chose to illustrate this article is a picture of the six Tri Achilles athletes who did that race in Florida right before the start. They are all great friends of mine, just like me, they are all amateurs who love our sport and our community. We had no idea how this race would go, but we knew one thing, once the race was over, we would all be there for each other. Go Tri Achilles!

May is a wonderful month for triathletes, the season finally started, this is my second year as captain of Tri Achilles. It’s been a busy winter and I’m excited for the future! The team is growing, we recruited more coaches, we have many new athletes and incredible stories to tell.

Francesco, one of our young visually impaired athletes did his first triathlon in September and showed amazing potential. He trained very hard through the winter, 8 to 10 times a week, he was ready for a breakout season. Unfortunately a few weeks ago he was hit by a truck on his way to school, he is ok but he has several fractures on his left foot and hand, he will miss several months. I am sharing this story with you because Francesco (please call him Franny) could have been discouraged by this major setback, but instead, he became an inspiration for our team. The first thing that he told me after his accident was “don’t worry Charles, I’ll be in the pool in about a month”. That’s the mentality that all my teammates share, that’s why our first triathlon of the season was such a resounding success!

I competed at the NJ Devilman last weekend without Franny, but with 20 motivated teammates. There were many interesting sub stories, Brandy was doing her first full triathlon, Alison, John, Eliza and I were trying to qualify for Nationals, Ben was guiding John for the first time etc. To qualify, men had to finish this sprint under 1 H 24, women had to finish under 1 h 36. Needless to say that pressure was on at the swim start!

On paper this swim seemed easy, it was in a quiet pond, there were some cute ducks, the water wasn’t too cold, but it was a total disaster for me. I lost the tether that connected me to Stefan (my guide AKA Kaiser) during the mass start, I think that one of our competitors got tangled in it. But Kaiser didn’t lose his calm, he started shoving me around to point me in the right direction, we kept going. I tried to push, I wanted to show that all my hard work at the pool would finally pay off, but my wetsuit felt tight, I was frustrated. I really wanted to prove myself, I started to have a panic attack. I took a 10 second break, I took some deep breaths, but still felt terrible. I could hear some of my teammates yelling in the background, facing their own issues, wow, triathlons are tough.

Once on the bike Stefan and I were back in our groove, we started to pass a lot of competitors, that’s always a good moral boost. The course was flat, we were averaging about 24 miles per hour, there is nothing like racing with a great cyclist such as Kaiser. This guy is a machine! I wish I had a recording of him saying “we’ve got this Charles” with his German accent, terminator style. Following his steadfast lead helped me tremendously to shake off my bad swim, to keep thinking positively, to push on the pedals. The run was very similar, flat and fast, we averaged a 6:41 pace, that was very satisfying. We qualified for Nationals, won in our category and placed 10th overall, not a bad day at the office!

But the highlight of my day was yet to come. One by one my teammates finished this race and all of them reached their goals! John, Alison and Eliza qualified for Nationals, Brandy finished her first triathlon, Sarah yelled “formidable !” with her French guide Thomas as they crossed the finish line, it was a perfect summary for this special day. I will never forget the pride that I felt while hugging each and every one of them. This race was for Franny.

Thank you to all our guides, all our volunteers, and a special thank you to Stefan for keeping me focused throughout this ordeal. But most of all, thank you Franny, thank you to everyone on the team for being such inspiring friends, I’m a lucky Captain. Tri Achilles is a beautiful family, this is going to be our best season ever, to be continued! Our next stop will be the Paratriathlon National Championships in June.

As a child I would often ask myself if my future wife would be blind. I didn’t want to marry a blind person. I would justify it by thinking to myself that it would be too inconvenient, that she would have to be able to drive, to help me with certain tasks etc. But the truth is that I wasn’t attracted to blind women, I was afraid. This fear was rooted in a deep denial about my condition. Like many visually impaired kids, I was a self-loathing teenager. How could I be attracted to blind women if I didn’t love myself? Subconsciously I associated blindness with depression, anger, resentment.

When I got married, and started this wonderful journey with my wife Alexandra, she helped me understand many things about myself. The first important lesson that she taught me is that being blind doesn’t define who I am. I know, it sounds obvious, but it took me many years to truly interiorize this. Once this denial was gone, I started to be myself again, my smile was back. This smile was everything.

I’m sure that at first, Alexandra probably asked herself things like, will Charles be a good father? Who will drive me home from the hospital after I give birth to our child? Can he use chopsticks? But we both would have these thoughts regardless of my disability. Blind boyfriend or not, she would have wondered if this relationship was right. . And together, we found our happiness.

This positive mentality and this renewed happiness helped me become a dynamic person, find a good job, be more involved in my community, and the symptoms that initially came with blindness, depression, anger, resentment were finally gone. My wife isn’t blind, but she suffers from anxiety. Would she marry someone who has anxiety issues? This is not a relevant question, this doesn’t define who she is and I’m sure that it never even entered her mind.

I wish I could talk to this younger Charles and tell him everything I just told you. Now that I am more comfortable with my disability, of course, I would respond differently to my initial question, but the thing is that I don’t even think in these terms anymore. It took me many years to regain my confidence, becoming an athlete helped, but being loved helped even more. I assume that most of the readers of this blog are familiar with these issues, I’d love to know if some of you have a similar story to share.

“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie

If you saw Thomas and me on this parking lot, packing our tandem in a beat-up cardboard box, changing in a rush to catch our flight without having a chance to shower, you would understand all the charm and all the absurdities of Paratriathlon. This weekend we were in Florida for the 2017 Sarasota ITU Paratriathlon World Cup, the last race of our busy 2017 season. This was our first triathlon on the international circuit. We were both nervous, anxious to prove ourselves that we could hold our own against some of the best Para triathletes in the world.

But first, let me give you a few reasons why my guide Thomas is a bad a$$:

#1 He met me on Friday right after spending two hours in the emergency room, after being hit by a cab while he was commuting by bike

#2 When I asked how bad it was, he just responded that the bike was ok

#3 He never even considered not racing

#4 He can dismantle and pack a tandem in less than 15 minutes

Even if I worked really hard on improving my swim this winter, I was glad when they announced that this triathlon would be turned into a duathlon. They had to cancel the swim because of an unusual amount of blue-green algae in the water. But the humidity, the heat and the wind were going to slow us down.

We started with an aggressive run, arrived in transition in first place. I was happy to get on the bike, it would help me to cool off just a bit. The wind was so powerful that even when we were pushing like crazy, we couldn’t go above 21 miles per hour. I kept telling myself that all my opponents would have the same problem, but a part of me started to doubt.

When we finished the bike I made a rookie mistake. I unfastened my helmet too soon, the referees yelled at me and told us to stop in the penalty tent. The start of the second run was brutal, we were still in first place, but I felt terrible. I couldn’t push, I was overheating. Thomas poured several bottles of water on my head, but my heart rate stayed very high (zone 5). This was the moment for which I had been training all year, this was now or never. I kept talking to myself like a madman. During a U-turn, Thomas spotted the Venezuelan athlete in second place, estimated that he was about two minutes behind us. I became more confident, pushed a little more. The final mile was a blur, all I remember is my brain complaining about the heat.

Crossing the finish line with Thomas in first place was very special. He made many sacrifices to be there, probably spent more time with me than with his wife this past year, this was our celebration. Together, at this moment, we were proud of what we had accomplished. So yes, if you saw us on this parking lot a few minutes later, rushing to get to the airport, you would understand what it is to be an amateur athlete. It is a work of love, it is about friendship and determination. It is about sport in its purest form.

Even when everything goes wrong during a race, there is a silver lining, something to hang on to. Those are usually the most enlightening races. As my brother Bertrand is massaging my injured hamstring, I am holding a new blue jersey, smiling despite a disappointing 4^th place. I am now a member of the French National team!

I’ve been living in New York City for over five years, before this race I had never done a triathlon in my dear France. I was very touched when in May, the coach of the French team invited me to compete for the National title in Gravelines. For the first time, my parents, my brother and some of my friends would support me as I battle with the best athletes in the country. My dedicated friend Thomas traveled all the way from New York City to guide me for this race, his family was also going to be there behind us.

I was more anxious than usual before the start, I really wanted to have a good showing in front of my family and the coach of the National team. I started the swim way too fast, and after the first left turn, I got tangled with a few opponents and anxiety started to tighten my chest. Dark thoughts invaded my mind, a little voice inside me started to say: “Charles, you are not good enough, your parents are going to be embarrassed. You traveled all this way for nothing, today isn’t your day. You are not a good swimmer, look at this, everyone is passing you. This coach is never going to want you on the team.”

I got out of the water way behind my opponents, after a decent transition, I jumped on the tandem angry. Again, I pushed way too hard at the beginning, I felt that something was wrong in my right hamstring from the get-go. This dark cloud was following me. Thankfully Thomas is very powerful on the bike, on each of the four loops, we were getting faster and faster. It was wonderful to hear my family cheer for us, my brother Bertrand was especially wild!

As we started the run, the coach of the National team told me that I was less than one minute behind third place and that I could catch him. I tried to get in my rhythm, a 6:45 pace or so, but my hamstring started to really hurt and I knew that finishing would be difficult, let alone finishing on the podium. I slowed down and tried to enjoy racing with Thomas. Of course, since this wasn’t our day, we had to stop in the penalty box, Thomas had left his helmet on the handlebar of our tandem, when the rule is that every item must be placed in a box in transition. One more lesson learned.

We crossed the finish line in fourth place, everyone on the team was very supportive. It was fascinating to speak to some of the Paralympians who were there that day, I love this community. The coach was very comforting, he said that this was a great experience for me and that there is always at least one thing that goes wrong during a triathlon. He handed me a beautiful jersey of the National team and made my day!

Many people think that money has tainted professional sports, even the Olympics. But when it comes to the Paralympics, one thing is sure, all the athletes involved do this because of their passion for their sport. The word amateur derives from the Latin word, amator, or lover. An amateur is someone who dedicates himself to a pursuit not for the money, but for love. Sports historian Allen Guttmann wrote: “Through most of the twentieth-century amateurism was defended with the argument that fair play and good sportsmanship are possible only when sports are an athlete’s avocation, never his or her vocation.”

I recently read this incredible article about my friend Liz Baker, a visually impaired triathlete who placed 4th in Rio. She fell when she was in third position, with only one half-mile left in the race. She concludes by saying:

“I don’t want it to be my last,” she said. “I don’t want to go down like that. If financially I can do it, and I’m still gaining improvement in speed workouts, and pool and track workouts, then I want to [continue].”

You can read the full article here:

http://womensrunning.competitor.com/2016/09/inspiration/elizabeth-baker-fell-rio_65864#msrD9lZHbFK6jdy1.97

Does nothing shock you in this quote? Yes, the financial aspect of this endeavor is crucial, training for the Paralympics is a considerable investment.

Of course, this is not an issue only faced by Paralympians. According to the Guardian, more than 100 US athletes started GoFundMe pages in the run-up to the Rio Games, seeking funds for new equipment and to help them cover their living expenses. Some have even applied for food stamps, yes, food stamps! The lucrative sponsorship deals signed by athletes like Michael Phelps are the exception, not the rule.

But what is true for Olympians is even more true for Paralympians. Let me give you a few numbers: Olympians get $25,000 for their gold medals, Paralympians get $5,000. Silver medals are worth $15,000 for Olympians, while Paralympians only get $3,000. Bronze medals are worth $10,000 for Olympians and $2,000 for Paralympians. Yep, you did the math, Paralympians get five times less for the same result. What’s more, training to compete in the Paralympics can also be more expensive than training for the traditional games, Paralympians need expensive adaptive equipment. For instance, my dream tandem would be worth about $15,000.

The heart of the issue is that Paralympians are at a financial disadvantage because they have a harder time attracting sponsors. There isn’t nearly the same amount of TV coverage, the many categories make the Paralympics difficult to follow, and the few weeks between the Olympics and the Paralympics make it even more difficult for people to pay attention to this amazing event.

Fortunately, things are slowly changing. It is not a secret, my dream would be to go to Tokyo in 2020. I still have a lot of work to do, but my second place at the US Nationals in June makes me be reasonably hopeful. I am able to train in an amazing pool in Manhattan (the JCC), in the best indoor biking studio (Tailwind Endurance) and in Central Park, all of this for free. In addition, a first sponsor has agreed to support me for the next few years, the CFE (Caisse des Francais de l’Etranger), an insurance company for French people living abroad. This will help me cover some of my travel expenses, the purchase of new equipment etc.

I don’t know that Paralympians should become professionals, but it is clear to me that disabled athletes must do a better job telling their story. I want the Liz Bakers of this world to have another shot at an Olympic medal, and money shouldn’t be such an important factor. If you work in a large company, you should ask your HR manager to invite Liz Baker or Amy Dixon as a motivational speaker. If you own a company, you should talk to an organization like Achilles International, which supports athletes with disabilities. If you are a runner, you should share this post and meet us in Central Park for our next workout! The next Paralympians are there, training hard, in love with their sport.

This New York City triathlon was very special for me. I have been captain of the Tri Achilles team for a few months now, this race is our main event of the year and I really wanted to show this City what we could do!

I was surprisingly relaxed on race morning, it was great to see some old friends such as John Chan, along with about 30 other para triathletes. This triathlon is the only one (as far as I know) that has prize money for the para division, we always have a great race and a deep field. Hopefully other race organizers will follow this example in the years to come, it will help our sport grow significantly. By the way, you should read this article about John, he is a great guy:

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more-sports/tri-stops-staten-island-triathlete-john-chan-article-1.3329125

When Thomas and I jumped in the Hudson I quickly realized two things, there was a very strong current pushing us, that’s good, but my goggles were on my forehead, not so good. I was never really locked in during the swim, but the natural push was so powerful that it didn’t really matter. We swam the 1500 meters in 17:30, yep, new PR, and ran to our tandem, which was half a mile away. That’s quite long when you are barefooted.

The bike course is challenging but fun, I don’t remember going that fast on a bike. Thomas probably did 60% of the work, but who cares! I spent many hours at Tailwind this winter, during the second part of the course I really felt a difference. Around mile 20, I asked Thomas to add one more gear, but he simply responded: “Charles, this is it, there is no more gear!” We finished the 26 miles in 1 H 09, things were starting to look really good.

Of course I started the run a little too fast, as always, probably at a 6:50 pace or so, but reality quickly settled in. The crowd on 72^nd street is incredible, I had the chills! Wearing an Achilles jersey is almost like using PEDs, I had wings while entering Central Park. But for the first time in my short career, my guide started to slow down ever so slightly. I was shocked, I mean, Thomas is a cyborg, but I was also flattered! We checked his heartrate afterwards, we realized that he spent over 30 minutes in zone 5 during the run, I think that I would have collapsed had I gone through the same thing. Thomas, thank you for toughing it out! Oh, one last thing, when we were dashing toward the finish line, I pushed for a final sprint, I touched the shoe of someone in front of me. I heard a few stumbles, cursing, and finally, a crash. Sorry sir! We met my victim afterwards, apparently he had a large bandage around his knee, ouch. But don’t worry, when he understood why I didn’t see him, he was very gracious.

This new PR of 2:17 was a nice treat, but my 1^st place in the para division was an incredible surprise! Achilles was all over the podiums, it was a good day at the office. Thank you Thomas and thank you Achilles!