The orthopedic specialists from Ottobock had to put in extra shifts at the sewing machine on the opening night of the Winter Paralympics. “We asked at short notice whether they could make the race suit summer-ready. After all, it’s winter sport, it should feel a bit cool,” Leonie Walter revealed during the two-hour special operation in the Paralympic village of Predazzo, and added with a grin: “They gave it their best, and that paid off.”
With the re-sewn race suit with short arms and legs, the 22-year-old teamed up with guide Christian Krasman on Saturday to bronze in the biathlon sprint. The same feat as a fashionable splash of color in nearly summer-like temperatures in Lago di Tesero was achieved in the standing class by Marco Maier: “The outfit definitely brought luck.” Not to mention that he also charged to bronze in the individual race on Sunday.
More successful was Anja Wicker, in the regular racing outfit, in the seated class. After bronze in the sprint, she took silver on Saturday; it was her Paralympics medals number four and five. “Two races, two medals. That’s the dream,” said Wicker: “I have to pinch myself, I had already achieved my goal with bronze on Saturday, and now I’ve added the icing on the cake. But I’m not finished yet, maybe there will be another podium.”
Five medals in the opening weekend by the time of the editorial deadline – with that, the German para-team had far surpassed the weak tally of the German Olympic biathlon team of a single bronze at the Winter Games right at the start. “I’m happy that we can keep pace in terms of medals,” said Leonie Walter after her total fifth Paralympics medal – in 2022 in Beijing she had won one gold and three bronze – quite modestly. Her guide Christian Grasman was once a hopeful biathlete himself.
Humble
Also national coach Ralf Rombach did not want to gloat that the German para-biathletes had already, after day one, easily eclipsed the big stars Franziska Preuß and others in terms of medals: “I am completely humble about it and glad that things are going well for us. It is by no means that I would say: ‘Hehe, we are better.’”
However, the experienced coach did have one more wish for the Olympic biathlon division. “It would be nice if we could move a little closer together.” There is indeed collaboration in terms of material preparation with the Olympic wax specialists of the German Ski Association (DSV), but a joint training of the opening-medalists Walter, Wicker, Maier and others with the German biathlon stars around Philipp Nawrath or Vanessa Voigt has never happened.
Meanwhile, the skijumpers, who regularly perform before millions of TV viewers, could certainly learn a thing or two from the para-biathletes. For example, accuracy at the shooting range. Walter, who, due to visual impairment, responds to an acoustic signal when shooting, and Maier remained completely error-free at the shooting range on Saturday. The latter salvaged bronze with incredible fighting spirit on the final lap in the deep snow by a margin of 0.2 seconds. “Two medals in the first two races are a dream. I also think it’s fantastic that we have spectators here at last,” Maier raved.
The stands were well filled in bright sunshine. And not only in the German camp did people rejoice that at these Paralympics they were finally talking about sport and not just politics. “I would have preferred if the Russians had continued to compete under a neutral flag as before. But the whole discussion distracts from the sport – and we only have this big stage every four years at the Paralympics,” commented Anja Wicker.
Because of the controversial return of Russian athletes with flag and anthem at these Paralympics, Germany like several other nations had forgone the parade of nations at the opening ceremony on Friday. Sometime that evening the sewing operation took place, which was immediately rewarded with a shower of medals.
