Exceptional achievements (2)
The German Sports Aid Foundation presents some of its medal favourites for the Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Heinrich Popow, athletics
Even after many years in top-level sport, the Paralympics are the absolute high point for all athletes with a disability. This year’s Games in Rio will be Heinrich Popow’s fourth Paralympics. Born in 1983, his goal is to defend his 2012 gold medal and his world record. 7 September 2012 was quite a day at London’s Olympic Stadium, with 80,000 people generating an incredible atmosphere. Heinrich took just 12.40 seconds to cross the finishing line, winning him gold at the Paralympics! He also won bronze in the 200 metres and in the 4x100 metres relay in 2012. He had already won a total of four medals in Athens in 2004 and in Beijing in 2008. Sport is the most important thing in his life. He hopes that his achievements will encourage others and show them that even the greatest setback can present an opportunity. He was seven years old when his family came to Germany from Kazakhstan. And he was nine when his life was turned upside down. Diagnosed with a tumour in his left calf, he had to have his leg amputated. But Heinrich, who is from the German city of Leverkusen, never considered giving up. “I don’t run although I’m missing a leg. I run because I’m missing a leg.”
Markus Rehm, athletics
One man who really stands for inclusion is Markus Rehm (born in 1988). At the 2012 Games in London he won the Paralympic gold medal in long jump, setting a new world record, and also won bronze in the 4x100 metres relay. With a jump of 8.24 metres, Markus won the German Championships for non-disabled athletes on 26 July 2014, bringing the subject of Paralympic sport and equality into the media and into public debate. And he continues to use every conceivable scientific argument in his fight to be given the permanent right to compete at the Olympics and in all other competitions. One Sunday during the long hot summer of 2003, 14-year-old Markus – a wakeboarding enthusiast – had an accident on the River Main which resulted in serious leg injuries. His right leg had to be amputated below the knee. He took up sport again, even returning to wakeboarding (and coming second in the 2005 German Youth Championships), but later devoted himself more to athletics. Likewise from Leverkusen, Markus looked into the question of prostheses at an early stage because he wanted to improve his mobility. These days he is a master craftsman in orthopaedic mechanics and passes his considerable experience on to others.
