Para athletics concludes on the streets of Paris with Switzerland winning two of the four marathon races with tremendous showing from wheelchair racers Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner.
Four-time Tokyo 2020 gold medallist Marcel Hug, known as the ‘Silver Bullet’ for his recognisable silver helmet, won his first gold of Paris 2024 in the men’s T54, having also taken two silver and a bronze on the track.
“I really wanted it, and I made it. I’m very happy, very satisfied. But also very exhausted. It was my goal to win at least one gold medal here. Now I have a full set of the medals,” Hug told the IPC.
For Swiss wheelchair racer Debrunner, this women’s marathon T54 gold added up to her fifth gold medal of the Games, as well as one silver.
“Winning this Paralympic marathon means it all to me as it’s something magical.
“I’m super exhausted but extremely happy and I can’t believe that I won this super, super tough marathon,” she said.
Tricky cobblestones and iconic route
After starting in Seine-Saint-Denis, the Para athletes passed through the Place de la Concorde, which staged the Opening Ceremony, before competing in the Champs-Elysees, going around the Arc de Triomphe to reach a grand finish in front of the Esplanades de Invalides.
“It was really tough out there with the cobblestones and the turns. I was just happy to cross the finish line, first, as everything was hurting. It was very emotional,” Hug said of the course.
“The course itself was extremely difficult,” agreed Debrunner.
“I feel more exhausted than ever in my life. This marathon is really at the edge for us wheelchair racers, especially the 5k (five kilometre) cobblestone section up the hill to the Champs-Elysees. I have never ever had that experience.
“I was really afraid I was going to fall because it was so difficult to keep my balance.
“I really thought I was going to die. It’s by far the toughest marathon I’ve ever done,” said Debrunner. With such a long race, strategy was key.
“My strategy was to get a very fast start to try to break away and split the group. I did that and for a while I was together with the Chinese athlete ( Jin Hua, silver medallist). We could work together,” Hug explained
“After about 20km or so, I could break away, and then I tried to keep my pace, it was really tough because I didn’t know how much the gap was,” he said.
Six races, five golds
Taking five gold medals, across six races, was a massive feat for Debrunner.
“We have all come an intense two weeks with a lot of races, a lot of emotions, and then doing at the end a marathon this is really something special. Normally when we do a marathon we only prepare for that, not do five races before.”
In Tokyo 2020, Debrunner competed in three races and won one gold, and her improvement since has been intentional. She worked as a primary school teacher previously, and after Tokyo she quit to focus on her sporting career.
“I stopped working as a primary school teacher and I think that was really a great choice. I really understood what it means to be a professional athlete.”
“I had a lot of really good role models like Marcel Hug and Manuela Schaer (also Swiss), but also from abroad. Chantal Petitclerc (Canada) was always my role model. I always said ‘I want to be as good as she was’.”
Petitclerc achieved 20 gold medals through her career, giving Debrunner high sights to aim for.
Debrunner is not stopping here, saying “LA is for sure a goal for me.”
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