Marcel Hug celebrated four gold medals in Tokyo
Image: Keystone
Manuela Schär will compete on the track for the last time in Paris
Image: Keystone
Catherine Debrunner won two medals at her first Paralympics in Tokyo
Image: Keystone
Flurina Rigling travels to Paris as multiple world champion
Image: Keystone
Elena Kratter surprisingly flies to bronze in the long jump in Tokyo
Image: Keystone
Marcel Hug celebrated four gold medals in Tokyo
Image: Keystone
Manuela Schär will compete on the track for the last time in Paris
Image: Keystone
Catherine Debrunner won two medals at her first Paralympics in Tokyo
Image: Keystone
Flurina Rigling travels to Paris as multiple world champion
Image: Keystone
Elena Kratter surprisingly flies to bronze in the long jump in Tokyo
Image: Keystone
27 athletes will be competing for Switzerland at the Paralympics in Paris. In the French capital, the delegation is aiming for 14 medals, just like at the last event.
19.07.2024, 11:03
19.07.2024, 11:04
SDA
In 40 days' time, the Paris Paralympics will open on the Place de la Concorde to the east of the Champs-Élysées. 549 sets of medals in 22 sports will be awarded over twelve days. And the 27-strong Swiss delegation, the largest since 2008 (28), is also arriving with ambitions for precious metal.
First and foremost, of course, in athletics. In Tokyo three years ago, Marcel Hug won four gold medals (800m, 1500m, 5000m and marathon), and the 38-year-old from Thurgau will be trying to repeat this feat in his sixth Paralympic Games. The main rehearsal in Paris a year ago at the World Championships was a complete success for Hug with three gold medals on the track.
Manuela Schär even took five medals home from Tokyo three years ago, three silver (1500m, 5000m and marathon) and two gold (400m and 800m). For the 39-year-old from Lucerne, who won two gold medals at the World Championships (400m and 800m), her sixth Paralympics will be her debut on the track. After that, Schär wants to concentrate on the marathon distance.
The third major medal hope in the ten-strong athletics team is Catherine Debrunner. In Tokyo, the 29-year-old from Thurgau won one gold (400m) and one bronze (800m). At the World Championships a year ago, she was the most successful athlete ever with five medals (four gold, one silver), and Debrunner, like Hug a multiple world record holder, will also want to show her great potential in her second participation among the Paralympic Agitos.
Elena Kratter was surprised in Tokyo that she was able to secure the bronze medal in the long jump. Three years later, the 28-year-old from Schwyz is a medal contender. Kratter flew to silver at the World Championships. She dreams of completing her personal medal set.
Plenty of potential in para-cycling
The para-cyclists make up the second-largest group in the Swiss delegation, and they also want to have medals hanging around their necks. Like seven other members of the Swiss Paralympic Team, Flurina Rigling is competing at the Paralympics for the first time. However, the 27-year-old from Zurich is doing so as a four-time world champion, which puts her among the favorites both on the track and on the road.
Franziska Matile-Dörig, meanwhile, arrives as overall World Cup winner, and the 32-year-old from Appenzell has proven that she can keep up with the best as a three-time winner of World Championship medals. Just like Celine van Till. The 33-year-old from Geneva is the reigning world time trial champion and multiple winner of the overall World Cup.
Hand cyclists Fabian Recher, Benjamin Früh and Sandra Stöckli have also attracted attention this season with strong performances in the World Cup.
Chef de mission is in good spirits
In badminton, Cynthia Mathez and Ilaria Renggli have established themselves as one of the best doubles teams in the world. The 38-year-old from Jura and the 24-year-old from Aargau have formed a duo for almost three years and are one of six teams to have secured a starting place in Paris. Even though the competition from Asia is strong, the pair are confident of their chances of winning a medal. In Tokyo, Mathez and her then partner Karin Suter-Erath narrowly missed out on fourth place.
"Our goal is to at least repeat our overall performance from Tokyo in Paris. The 14 medals are also realistic this time," says Peter Läuppi. In addition to athletics, para-cycling and badminton, the Chef de Mission also sees a chance of winning medals in swimming. The 21-year-old Nora Meister from Aargau won bronze in the 400m freestyle in Tokyo, while Leo McCrea, the 20-year-old who lives in Poole, England, won a diploma in the 100m breaststroke in 2021. "There is great potential in the Swiss delegation," says Läuppi, who is also delighted that Switzerland will be represented in two sports at the Paralympics for the first time ever.
Two premieres
Claire Ghiringhelli, the only Ticino woman in the team, has qualified for the single scull rowing competition, which has been part of the Paralympic program since 2008. Carmen Brussig, meanwhile, is about to compete in her fourth Paralympics, but the first for Switzerland. The judoka won gold for Germany at London 2012, among others, before switching nations two years ago, which has now led to this premiere for Swiss Paralympic.
Tennis player Nalani Buob, ranked number 22 in the world, will be competing in her second Paralympics in Paris. Sport shooter Nicole Häusler has been selected for the third time, and dressage rider Nicole Geiger, at 61 the oldest athlete in the team, is also taking part for the third time, for the first time with her horse Donar Weltino.
