Paralympics-World champion Patouillet hopes for more LGBTQIA+ acceptance in cycling

FILE PHOTO-French Paralympic cyclist Marie Patouillet, 35, who wants to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games, gets ready before a training session on a cycling track during a training session at the French national Institute of Sport and Physical Education (INSEP) in Paris, France, September 6, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier/File Photo

PARIS (Reuters) - When Marie Patouillet was forced to give up running due to a foot malformation in her late 20s, she turned to para-cycling as a new means to perform.

The 35-year-old Frenchwoman brought back two bronze medals from the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games on the track and she now looks set to take part in the Paris 2024 Olympics after claiming the paracycling road race world title last year.