Out Of The Bird`s Nest Into The Lion Cage

Mastouri, who has been training for weeks, will replace well-known lion tamer Frederic Edelstein for a special show.

French athlete Djamel Mastouri, who won an 800 metres bronze medal at last year's Paralympics, is now far from Beijing's Bird's Nest stadium, taming lions at a Paris circus.

Mastouri, who has been training for weeks, will replace well-known lion tamer Frederic Edelstein for a special show at the Pinder circus on Thursday.

Eight acts will be performed by French disabled athletes during the show, called Handicircus Gala and also featuring French artists and celebrities.

Finding acrobats and trapeze artists was not too hard but picking a volunteer lion tamer was a different story.

"They (the show promoters) had six athletes in mind but when they saw the show with 18 lions, all the others stood down," Mastouri told Reuters in an interview.

The 36-year-old athlete suffers from hemiplegia -- partial paralysis of one side of the body. When racing he does not use a wheelchair and he performs his circus act standing, though he cannot use his right leg or arm.

The idea of facing the big cats appealed to him straight away.

"I saw it as a unique occasion to live something truly exceptional," he said. "And if the lions eat a part of me, I'll do the next Paralympics as an amputee."

ADRENALINE RUSH

While Edelstein normally faces 18 animals, Mastouri has to deal with just three, two lions called Clarence and Starsky and a tiger, Dixie.

Edelstein will watch from a distance, ready to intervene in case of a problem.

"When I first entered the cage, the animals felt immediately that I had a handicap," Mastouri said. "I had to go in there on my own to make sure they would not take advantage of my weakness.

"The adrenaline rush was similar to the one you get when you enter a packed stadium for a final," he added.

"I felt suddenly very small. I had been told I should not be afraid but I was scared because they kept staring at me."

Mastouri uses a stick, which he can manipulate only with his hand because of numbness in his arm, to make the animals raise their front paws and jump through a hoop.

"I must be careful because they could cut my arm off with their paws," he said. "I must never turn my back on them."

SIMULATING ROAR

At first Mastouri stroked the animals to congratulate them after their acts but he soon stopped.

"They reacted by hitting me with their tails and it was painful," he said. "In fact they don't like being stroked."

Now he speaks to them, calling them "good boy" or "good girl", or even simulates a roar.

"That's the best way I found to make them understand I'm proud of them," he said.

The fear, he said, had vanished.

"Now I'm so focused that I don't see anything around me. I even forget about my disability."