 Portal in 2023 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 12 February 2002 Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Sport | Paralympic swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | S13, SM13 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Alex Portal (born 12 February 2002) is a French Paralympic swimmer. He competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, winning two medals, and at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, winning four medals.
Portal was born on 12 February 2002 in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France. [1] He and his younger brother Kylian were both born with ocular albinism, a condition resulting in poor eyesight. [2] [3] Alex began swimming at age five at the club CN Pecq, and later began competing at age seven with the club Cercle des nageurs de l'ouest in Saint-Germain-en-Laye. [1] He attended the business school Ecole de Management Léonard De Vinci. [1]
Portal initially competed against non-disabled swimmers, before registering for para swimming in 2016. He competed at the French national championships and qualified for the national team shortly after. [4] Classified as an S13 swimmer, Portal won two medals at the 2019 World Para Swimming Championships. [1] He qualified for the 2020 Summer Paralympics and won two medals: a bronze in the 400m freestyle S13 and a silver in the 200m medley S13. [5] [6] In September 2021, he was honored with the Ordre national du Mérite from the president. [7]
In 2022, Portal won four medals, including a gold, at the World Para Swimming Championships. [1] The following year, he won three gold medals and a silver at the world championships. [1] In the 400m freestyle event, in which he won gold, his brother Kylian also competed and won bronze. [8]
In December 2023, Portal and his brother received scholarships from the city of Saint-Germain-en-Laye for €5,000. [9] In 2024, a sign was installed at the entrance of the city to celebrate the two brothers' accomplishments. [9] At the 2024 European championships, Alex won four medals. [1] Both he and his brother were selected for the 2024 Summer Paralympics. [9] At the Paralympics, Alex won four medals – silver in the 100m butterfly, silver in the 400m freestyle, silver in the 200m medley and bronze in the 100m backstroke. [10] In the 400m freestyle, he placed one spot above his brother Kylian, the bronze medalist. [11] [12]
