After hosting the 2024 Olympic Games, Paris is back in the limelight as the Paralympics Games takes the torch.
The multi-sport tournament will finish on September 8, with para-athletes from around the world competing for coveted medals. Among Team GB’s ranks is 12-time gold medallist and Samsung brand ambassador Kadeena Cox OBE.
The 33-year-old has made her name in both sprinting and cycling but will focus solely on track cycling in this year’s Games hoping to bring home gold for the country. But it wasn’t always this way. She began sprinting at age 15; training for a career that would be cut short ten years later in 2014 when she suffered a stroke. Although she recovered from that episode, a multiple sclerosis diagnosis soon followed.
For most, this might have spelt the end of their sporting career, but Cox has never been one to admit defeat so easily. Speaking to sponsor the National Lottery she said, “The diagnosis has definitely changed the way that I think about things and my outlook. I think now more about living each day as it comes and taking every opportunity that's in front of me.” Right now, that’s the 2024 Paralympic Games.
Sponsored by Samsung, its motto is Open Always Wins - a phrase that links the inclusive nature of the Games with its foldable device, the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6. Five thousand para-athletes, including Cox, have been given the phones, so that they, like Olympians in the weeks before, can snap victory selfies if they’re decorated at the podium.
Before she takes her place in the spotlight, we grabbed Cox for a quick chat about the challenge ahead and the packing must-haves she’s taken with her across the Channel.
The Games are underway! What’s it like living in the athlete’s village?
“It’s an absolute vibe! The food hall is the most amazing place with food from so many different places so you can try different dishes. It’s really cool coming into contact with so many different people from different sports you wouldn’t normally meet. Everyone is so friendly!”
How do you make it feel like home?
“I normally bring my own pillow and a teddy. This time I’ll take fairy lights and a picture of my family to make it feel a bit more like home.”
What’s your favourite cycling gadget or must-have?
“I use my Samsung Galaxy Watch7 to monitor my heart rate and my sleep – which is so important for recovery. When training, I love my Samsung Galaxy Buds3 and listening to music to get pumped.”
What’s on your playlist right now?
“I predominantly listen to gospels. At the moment, I’m listening to stuff from Maverick City, CalledOut Music and Annatoria… and then I randomly have some Ed Sheeran in there!”
What are your ultimate travel essentials and why?
“This is such a curly-haired girl thing, but - my bonnet. I like travelling with a book so I can read, even though I never end up reading. I also always have my earphones as I can’t not have music.”
What can’t you leave home without?
“Beauty-wise, I think I’ve absolutely brought the vibes in terms of my war paint. No one else wears anything like that in the cycling world and I think I’ve started the trend. I’ve got my blue, red, white and gold eyeliner, although I won’t wear the gold eyeliner until I’ve won a medal.”
How do you unwind when you’re not training?
“I know it’s boring, but I nap quite a lot. At home, I’m a baker and enjoy decorating cakes. I also enjoy sewing and every now and again I’ll do a bit of crochet and make something for my dog.”
Why did you decide to be a brand ambassador for Samsung?
“It just aligned with who I am. I’m such an open book and love Samsung’s Olympic and Paralympic campaign: ‘Open Always Wins’.
I’ve had to transition through so many different phases throughout my career and I’m always open about what I’m facing, which is what their campaign is all about. It’s important to me to work with a brand that I can collaborate with and share my values.”
Kadeena Cox is a Team Samsung Galaxy ambassador, embodying Samsung’s ‘Open Always Wins’ spirit for Paris 2024.
Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6
Connecting over Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.3, the Z Flip6 is ideally suited to pairing up with wireless speakers or smartwatches, such as the all-new Samsung Galaxy Watch Ultra, giving epically strong connections that won’t falter and leave you high and dry. There is also a range of precision sensors and GPS to see to all your location and security needs, while a reasonably capacious 4000mAH battery will stand you in good stead for longer before charges.
Is this Samsung’s opus magnum of opening phones? Yes, yes it is. A stunningly realised thing of ringing beauty, it’s extremely attractive and equally well-built, every part of it is of premium-quality and it simply demands to be picked up, cherished and admired every few minutes in a manner that some from the outside may find obsessive, maybe even weird, but I challenge anyone to resist. Then there’s performance – speed is unsurpassed and functionality comes in smart-spades, instantly making itself at home as the hub of all your tech time.
So, the Z Flip6 is the best Samsung flip phone, that’s a given, but is it the best flip phone on the market full-stop? Well, from the cover screen to the cameras to the way it makes every action feel so utterly effortless, I confidently state the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip6 phone is the flip phone that flip phone fans have been eagerly awaiting for so long; so yes again, yes it is.
Buy now £1049.00, Samsung
