Whether it’s the middle-distance and long-distance tracks or the tarmac of marathons, Marcel Hug’s opponents generally don’t have time to see the colour of his racing car. But at the 2024 Paris Games, the man nicknamed the “Swiss Silver Bullet” (“the Swiss silver bullet”, in reference to the colour of his wheelchair) was beaten to everyone’s surprise in his first two events: the 5,000 m by the American Daniel Romanchuk and the 1,500 m by the Chinese Hua Jin. He also only took third place on Thursday 5 September in the 800 m. It was not until the last day, Sunday 8 September, and the marathon, that the 38-year-old from Thurgau finally won a gold medal in the T54 category (wheelchair athletes who have full use of their body with moderate or severe limitation of leg movement, or the absence of limbs).
Born with spina bifida – a malformation linked to a defect in the formation of the vertebral arches – Marcel Hug had six Paralympic titles before the Paris 2024 event, the first in 2016. In Tokyo, in 2021, he achieved a quadruple.
“In a wheelchair, it is possible to compete over different distances in a short time. Our muscles are not used in the same way. The movements are a bit like those of Nordic skiing.”explained, before the Games, the man who also has twenty-four marathon successes to his name, between 2011 and 2024, notably on the prestigious courses of Berlin, London, Chicago, New York and Boston.
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“It’s working very well for me at the moment, he slipped, prophetically, Mondeearly July. But you never know what can happen. A lot of positive parameters are needed to win. Every victory is special, and even more so at the Games, which are the most important competition for us.”
Technological advancement
Since 2021, Marcel Hug has been riding in a 100% carbon chair, designed in collaboration with technicians from the Swiss Formula 1 team, Sauber. “I had the opportunity to give them my opinion and provide feedback, he says. I tried it throughout the process to improve it. It’s a great experience to work with such engineers, who treated me like a professional athlete.”
The gap with older racing chair models is huge. “The result is incredible. It is more aerodynamic and there is less energy loss.”explains the athlete. The top speed that the machine can reach – propelled by arm power – is impressive: 38 km/h on the track. “It’s the same device, only the tires change.” Marcel Hug is also the holder of the world record for the wheelchair marathon: 1 h 17 min 47, a mark set on November 21, 2021 in Oita (Japan).
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