Debrunner is Paralympic Athlete of the Year for the second time in a row

The 30-year-old from Thurgau crowned a flawless season with five World Championship titles and was named Paralympic Athlete of the Year for the second time in a row.

Where other athletes cut back after an intensive Paralympics year, Catherine Debrunner shifted up a gear. She provided the ultimate proof in the fall of 2025 at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi. While she had been denied victory in the sprint in Paris, this time everything went perfectly: five starts, five victories. She gave the world elite no chance in the 100, 400, 800, 1500 and 5000 meters.

With her victory in the 100 meters, she removed the last small "blemish" from her Paris record. The trained primary school teacher, who has been running professionally since 2022, thus underlined her status as an exceptional athlete. While the competition often specializes, the athlete from eastern Switzerland dominates the entire spectrum - from the explosiveness of the sprint to the tactical endurance of the long distance.

In spring 2025, Debrunner had already proven on the fast track in Arbon that her form curve continues to point upwards when she underpinned her own exceptional position with new world best times. The decision in 2019 to professionalize her training under Dutch coach Arno Mul continues to pay off. Debrunner not only manages her success, she builds on it.

Being named "Paralympic Athlete of the Year" once again not only honors a series of medals, but also the consistency of an athlete who continues to redefine the limits of wheelchair sport.