Luc Percival Photography

Under the state of emergency in Tokyo we were not allowed more than 100m from our hotel other than to go to competition venues - and even then only by taxi. So our first few days in Tokyo were spent either in our hotel or at the Main Press Centre.

A visit to the Main Press Centre was required for a number of reasons - collection our press kit and also attending the photographer briefing were we'd learn about how each venue would operate. It was mainly to inform us that there would be a lot of PCR testing required in order to maintain access to venues and photo-positions; in particular any field of play positions. The MPC was housed in the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre.

The beginning of our adventure in Tokyo actually started in Izu, Shujenzi, about 100km south of the city, in view of the incredible Mount Fuji. I was there for the first 4 days of the Games to cover the Para-Track Cycling. The first day was all about the individual pursuit and resulted in France's first medal of Tokyo 2020 with Marie Patouillet claiming bronze in the Women's C5 3000m Individual Pursuit race.

The second day of the Para-Track-Cycling program at the Izu Velodrome saw France build on its previous day's bronze success with its first Gold Medal of the Games. Alexandre Léauté winning the Men's C2 3000m Individual Pursuit. There was other action, for the French team, in the Men's C4-5 1000m TT, but sadly no medal in this event.

France's success at the Izu Velodrome continued on the third day of the Para-Track-Cycling programme with Dorian Foulon's Gold medal performance in the Men's C5 4000m Individual Pursuit. This was followed closely by Alexandre Léauté's silver medal in the Men's C1-3 1000m TT. Tokyo 2020 was getting off to a flying start for L'Equipe De France on this incredibly fast track.

The last day of the ParaTrack-Cycling program at the Izu Velodrome would not disappoint. Missing out on a bronze medal in the Mixed C1-5 750m Team Sprint the day would be saved by Raphael Beaugillet and his pilot - Francois Pervis in the Men's B 1000m TT where they secured a bronze medal; marking the end of a very successful three and a half days of racing for L'Equipe De France.

My afternoon was spent covering some ParaAthletics in the Olympic Stadium. France's Gloria Agblemagnon was competing in the Women's F20 Shot Put and, sadly, didn't produce her, usual medal winning perfomances. However Tresor Gauthier Makunda and his guide Lucas Mathonat did put in a fantastic perfomance in the Men's 400m T11 and win a bronze medal! Also racing that night was Pierre Fairebank in the Men's 400m T53.

Oh boy - what an early morning! Up at 4am to be at the Odaiba Marine Park in time for the start of the ParaTriathlon at 06h30! France had a number of ParaTriathletes racing in the PTWC1 and PTS5 classifications this day at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Bronze medal podium shots of Thu Kamkasomphou. The medal ceremony was for a match Thu won the previous day. As such my visit was brief - drop in to shoot the podium; get to know the Photo Management team and the location itself for me to return in the following days for more Para Table Tennis.

Back in the Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium for table tennis. Today Fabien Lamirault would pull out all the stops to win Gold in the Mens MS2 classification. Today not only would Fabien receive his Gold medal, but Maxime Thomas would be presented with his Bronze medal in the Men's MS4 classification.

One race in the evening session at the Olympic Stadium would stand out for the French team. A race in which Charles-Antoine Kouakou would make history winning Frances first ParaAthletics Sport Adapté's Gold medal in the Men's T20 400m. This was a monumental achievement for a sprinter who is more used to running 100m and 200m races. To get him in the right frame of mind for this competition he thought about his favorite football team - PSG Paris Saint Germain...and to set his rhythm and pace for the race he'd visualise his feet drumming out the noise of a machine gun! A truly remarkable performance - I just knew he'd take the Gold that evening!

The morning was dedicated to the swimming heats at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre. Racing in the Men's S10 Butterfly was Florent Marais and in the Women's S9 Freestyle; Claire Supiot. Florent qualified for the finals of the S10 butterfly and narrowly missed out on a bronze medal that evening.

It was back to the Tokyo Aquatics Centre for the entire day. With heats in the morning featuring Florent Marais in the Men's 400m Freestyle S10, Laurent Chardard in the Men's 100m Freestyle S6, Ugo Didier in the Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9, Claire Supiot in the Women's 200m Individual Medley SM9 and Alex Portal in the Men's 100m freestyle S6. In the evening session there would be three Frenchmen in the finals, but only one - Ugo Didier - would shine through and win a bronze medal in the Men's 200m Individual Medley SM9.

The Ariake Gymnastics Centre was home to Boccia during the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games. 6 courts awaited teams for the Boccia Pairs BC3 matches. Here France came up against Thailand in their Pool A match.

More swimming from the Tokyo Aquatics Centre.

Para-Badminton's first appearance in the Parlympic Games was here in Tokyo 2020. And what a sport to photograph! It's super fast and super fun. On court would be Lenaig Morin and Faustine Noel in the women's SL3 doubles, then Thomas Jakobs and David Toupé in the men's WH1 doubles, followed by Lucas Mazur in the men's SL4 singles. David Toupé would later return for the men's WH1 singles and another player - Meril Loquette would be on court for the men's SU5 singles. An action packed day of racket sports!

The last visit to the Olympic Stadium for ParaAthletics. Just one race - the men's T38 1500m featuring France's Louis Radius and Redouane Hennouni-Bouzidi. Redouane set a blistering pace from the start, but was unable to sustain it to the end and, sadly, finished outside the medals.

Earlier in the day I photographed our one last combatant in the Para-Taekwando - Laura Schiel K44 +58kg. The superb setting of the Makuhari Messe Hall provided the backdrop for this superb sport; bright colours, dark backgrounds, perfect lighting and pumping music set the scene for this full contact combat sport!

A big day for France in the Para-Badmintion. Lucas Mazur took Gold in the men's singles SL4 and then came back out again to contest another finals in the mixed doubles SL3-SU5 with Faustine Noel where they had to settle for a silver medal. Gold and Silver sealing France's medal tally on the last day of competition at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

For the closing ceremony I would find myself working in a very privileged photo-position - the field of play - rather the dark zone - right down with 'show.' It definitely gives you a different perspective of the ceremony; not necessarily the best, in my opinion. Our task was to photograph, above all, the flag handover ceremony from the Mayor of Tokyo to the Mayor of Paris; Anne Hildago. Eventually the Paralympic Flame was extinguished and the games were over until the next time. Arigato Tokyo. Arigato Japan. What a fabulous adventure!