They Weren’t Wanted at the Paralympics. They’re Excelling Anyway.

After a dispute over whether they should be allowed to compete, the snowboarders Cécile Hernandez and Brenna Huckaby

They are putting in strong performances.

Until the moment Cécile Hernandez of France was handed an official racing bib

a time slot on Saturday, she still feared that race officials would forbid her to compete.

Only the day before, after months of legal wrangling, she sat in her room in the Olympic Village

listening via video conference to a court proceeding in Germany

in which an opposing team’s national delegation questioned her level of disability.

Her lawyer had assured her that all would be fine

that all she needed to worry about was zooming as fast as possible down the Genting Snow Park snowboarding course

But with legal jargon still clattering around her mind

along with an image from one of her social media accounts that was used as evidence against her

Hernandez’s anxiety spiked in the form of insomnia, worry and tears.

“I know they didn’t want me here,” she said.

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