After her triumphs over 800, 1500 and 5000 m, Catherine Debrunner successfully switched to the short distances at the Paralympics in Paris. The Thurgau native came second over 100 m. On Wednesday in the Stade de France, she was defeated only by Samantha Kinghorn, just as she was at the World Championships a year ago.
The Brit was 13 hundredths of a second faster than the Swiss in 15.64 seconds, who later said in an interview with SRF that she was “very proud” of her fourth medal in the fourth race. “I knew that it would be a mega-exciting fight with Samantha. I didn’t do anything wrong, she was just faster and deserved the win,” said Debrunner.
The 29-year-old has two more competitions left at these Paralympics. First is the 400 m race on Thursday, followed by the final marathon on Sunday. Debrunner is the top favorite both times and can increase her already historic haul in Paris even further.
Silver despite shock
Celine van Till had a chance of winning a medal in the field of six participants. Last year, the 33-year-old from Romande became world and European time trial champion.
On the way to her latest major success, Van Till had to overcome a moment of shock. “I had lost my balance for a while. Luckily, that passed.”
For Van Till, cycling is the third sport she has practiced as a para-athlete. Before that, she was a passionate rider and tried her hand at dressage and athletics as a sprinter. Van Till is not only active in sports, but also in politics. She is a member of the Grand Council in the canton of Geneva.
Bronze after European Championship title
Franziska Matile-Dörig’s medal win was not entirely surprising either. The 32-year-old from Appenzell was one of the favorites. A year ago at the European Championships in Rotterdam, she won the title in both the road race and her favorite discipline, the time trial.
In Paris, the Appenzell native, who has lived in Winterthur for a long time, started the time trial vehemently over 14.1 kilometers and over 140 meters of elevation. After 5.8 kilometers, she led the intermediate classification with a lead of 2.8 seconds over the eventual winner Samantha Bosco from the USA, but then paid a little for her effort.
“Halfway through the distance I realised that it was going to be tough. But I knew that I could compete for the medals. The fact that it has now worked out makes me overjoyed.” The physiotherapist missed gold by five seconds and silver by just 17 hundredths.
Rigling misses bronze by three tenths
Flurina Rigling was just a tiny bit away from winning bronze in the time trial. The Zurich athlete, who opened the Swiss medal tally in Paris last Thursday with bronze on the track in the 3000 m individual pursuit, missed out on her second podium place at these Games by three tenths of a second. As World Championship runner-up and European champion, Rigling was naturally one of the medal candidates.
Anna Beck from Sweden was just a little faster than Rigling. Maike Hausberger from Germany secured the title ahead of Frances Brown from Britain.
Timothy Zemp has achieved his most valuable result at the Paralympics so far. The Zurich resident from Kriens finished 7th in the road time trial and thus won a Paralympic diploma. The 31-year-old Zemp beamed after crossing the finish line: “A time trial has to be fun and brutal, and both were the case.” After the first of two laps of 14.2 kilometers each, he was even in 5th place, then had to pay tribute to the initial pace, but improved again at the end. “I was able to endure well and really picked up the pace on the last climb.”
Stöckli optimistic for Thursday
Sandra Stöckli finished 10th in the handbike time trial. The athlete from Jona had to start in a category with less severely impaired athletes, which was particularly noticeable on the steep climbs. But she felt good. “It was a good start, and sometimes I almost had to make sure I didn’t overexert myself.” As has long been known, Stöckli’s main focus is on Thursday’s road race. She radiates confidence. “I’m going into the race very optimistically and with a lot of joy. I’ve now seen the course at racing speed and noticed that I can handle it well.”
Handbike rider Benjamin Früh finished 5th in the time trial. The 32-year-old from Zurich was unable to leave any competitors behind in his Paralympics debut, but put in a good performance. His conclusion was accordingly: “I gave it my all and I can’t blame myself for anything.” Früh will also continue with the road race on Thursday.
Fabian Recher won his third Paralympic diploma with 6th place in the handbike time trial. This is the best placing so far for the Bernese rider after two 7th places in Tokyo and an improvement on the previous time trial: Due to a defect (broken chain) in the last lap, he was unable to finish the race.
Despite the slight improvement, Recher was not entirely satisfied. “I was once again in touch with the top 5, but something was missing that I had hoped for.” He could not say what that was exactly before the analysis. The 25-year-old does not have much time to switch gears: he starts the road race on Thursday at 9:30 a.m.
Swiss duel for last final place
Wheelchair athlete Alexandra Helbling finished 7th in the 100 m at the Paralympics in Paris. The 30-year-old from St. Gallen, born in Sri Lanka and a multiple medalist at European Championships, was delighted after the race to win her Paralympic diploma. Gold went to Belgian Lea Bayekula.
Helbing made it to the final of the best eight thanks to her 8th place finish. The battle for the last place in the final was a Swiss duel. Helbling narrowly beat her teammate Licia Mussinelli, who came third in the World Championships over this distance in Kobe, Japan last May, to 9th place. The Solothurn native was five hundredths behind.
Missed the final by one place
Nora Meister narrowly missed out on a place in the final of the 100 m crawl at the Paralympics in Paris. The 21-year-old from Aargau, who won the bronze medal in the 400 m at the Games in Tokyo three years ago, finished 9th in the overall ranking after the preliminary rounds. The best eight will fight for the medals.
Häusler has no chance in the qualification
The shooter Nicole Häusler had no chance in the qualification for the prone competition with the rifle over 50 m. The 45-year-old from Bern, who was once active in curling as a wheelchair athlete, came 25th out of an equal number of participants in the competition with men and women.
14th place for dressage rider Geiger
Nicole Geiger rode to 14th place in the dressage competition. The 61-year-old from Aargau showed a harmonious program in front of the impressive backdrop of the Palace of Versailles. Geiger is competing in her third Paralympic Games in Paris. However, she competed for the first time with the horse Donar Weltino. Geiger received a score of 66.487 percent for her ride. “I am very proud of this young horse,” said Geiger. She was very happy with the trot tour, but a few mistakes crept in during the walk, which led to a large deduction of points.
Only the best eight were able to qualify for the free skating competition on Saturday. This means that Nicole Geiger’s time competing in Paris is over.
