Eléonor Sana
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality | Belgian | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 1 July 1997 Woluwe, Belgium. | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Belgium | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic alpine skiing | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | B2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Partner | Chloe Sana | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Stefan Sazio | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Eléonor Sana (born 1 July 1997) is a retired Belgian visually impaired alpine skier.[1]
Sana was born on July 1, 1997, in Woluwe in the Brussels region. When she was 6 weeks old, she developed bilateral genetic retinoblastoma, a cancer that affects the retina of both eyes. Having gone blind as a result of that disease, she took up alpine skiing in 2014.[2]
At the 2017 World Para Alpine Skiing Championships in Tarvisio, Italy, Eléonor, guided by her sister Chloé, won a silver resp. bronze medal in the Super-G and downhill for the visually impaired.[3]
Sana was the flagbearer for Belgium at the 2018 Winter Paralympics during the opening ceremony. During her events at the 2018 Paralympics, Sana paired with her sister, Chloe Sana, who skied as her sighted guide.[4][5]
Competing in her first Paralympic event, Sana won a bronze medal in the women's visually impaired downhill event during the 2018 Winter Paralympics..[6][7] She was Belgium´s first female medallist at a Paralympic Winter Games. Since making their Winter Paralympic debut at the first Games in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, in 1976, Belgium had been able to reach the podium only once through alpine skier Willy Mercier, who claimed bronze in the men´s super-G B1 at the 1994 Winter Paralympics in Lillehammer, Norway.[8]
Soon after their Olympic success, Chloé and Eléonor decided to quit the sport. Eléonor works in IT and Chloé became a school teacher.[9]
The comic book Sœurs de Glisse (Sisters of the Glide), published in 2026, by french author Gwénola Morizur and Italian illustrator Agnese Innocente , largely inspired by their life, tells the story of the sisters who team up and become ski champions against all odds.[10]
References
- ^ "Athlete Bio". Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ Verstrepen, Christophe. "Jeux paralympiques | La maman d'Eléonor Sana se confie: "elle a suvi 30 anesthésies générales en moins de trois ans"". DHnet (in French). Retrieved 27 October 2022.
- ^ "Para Alpine Skiing - Les soeurs Sana empochent l'argent lors du super-G des Mondiaux" [Para Alpine Skiing - The Sana sisters take silver in the World Championship super-G] (in French). Belgian Paralympic Committee. 26 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Eléonor Sana". Belgian Paralympic Committee (in Dutch). 12 April 2017. Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ NWS, VRT (10 March 2018). "Historisch brons voor bijna blinde skiester Eléonor Sana (en zus) op Winterspelen". vrtnws.be (in Flemish). Archived from the original on 10 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ "Alpine Skiing | Athlete Profile: Eleonor SANA - Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games". www.pyeongchang2018.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ "Alpine Skiing | Results Women's Downhill - Visually Impaired - Pyeongchang 2018 Paralympic Winter Games". www.pyeongchang2018.com. Archived from the original on 11 March 2018. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- ^ "PyeongChang 2018: Paralympic success still has not sunk in for Sana". vrtnws.be. International Paralympic Committee. 18 March 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ Le Morvan, Agnes (25 January 2026). "En bande dessinée, la fabuleuse histoire des sœurs Sana, médaillées des JO Paralympiques d'hiver de 2018" [In comic book form, the fabulous story of the Sana sisters, medalists at the 2018 Winter Paralympics] (in French). Ouest-France. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
- ^ "Sœurs de glisse" [Sisters of the Glide]. lesamisdelabd (in French). 1 March 2026. Retrieved 6 March 2026.
External links
- Eléonor Sana at FIS (alpine)
- Eléonor Sana at Paralympic.org
- Eléonor Sana at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)
- Eléonor Sana at the International Paralympic Committee
- Eléonor Sana at IPC.InfostradaSports.com (archived)