Salto Paralympians bring home wins and fond memories of the Paris Paralympic Games.
Salto Paralympians bring home wins and fond memories of the Paris Paralympic Games.
The Paris 2024 Summer Paralympic Games have come to an end, but for many athletes, the French capital will remain a special place in their hearts. Just weeks after hosting the Olympics, the city inaugurated Paris 2024, where over 4,000 athletes with physical, visual and intellectual impairments competed in 22 sports.
Salto-sponsored athletes Catherine Debrunner and Abassia Rahmani representing Switzerland, Greta Streimikyte representing Ireland, and members of the Danish Paralympic team will always look back on Paris with fond memories. Catherine Debrunner, in particular, can be proud of her performance at the Games. She made history as the first woman to win five Paralympic medals.
Catherine Debrunner wins the marathon to take fifth gold of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
Catherine Debrunner, a Swiss wheelchair racer sponsored by Salto, became this year's most successful Paralympic athlete. She won her fifth gold medal of the Games to lead a Swiss double-win in the T54 marathons; her compatriot Marcel Hug also topped the podium in the men’s event.
Debrunner dominated the women’s event from the start and finished in 1:41.50, four minutes and 23 seconds ahead of defending champion Madison de Rozario of Australia.
The most successful para-athletics athlete of Paris 2024, Debrunner also raced to gold in the 400m T53, 800m T53, 1,500m T54 and 5,000m T54 track events.
“I'm the first woman who actually did this, and it's a really big honour,” Debrunner said. She narrowly missed another gold in the 100m race, taking silver.
“I'm extremely exhausted but also very, very happy. Winning this Paralympic marathon means everything to me because it (the marathon) is something magical. And ending this whole Paralympics with this marathon, this is really something special.”
Greta Streimikyte sets new European record with fourth place in 1,500m T13 final
Greta Streimikyte, a vision-impaired athlete, made a brave effort in the Women’s 1,500m T13 final. She ran an official European record during the event. However, it wasn’t enough for a medal as the athlete from Swords, Dublin, came in fourth.
Greta made a strong start to keep tabs on defending champion Tigist Gezahagn Mengistu of Ethiopia.
“My plan was, similar to the Worlds in Paris last year, to take on the first lap to make sure it wasn’t going to be too slow, because that wouldn’t be beneficial for me,” said Greta.
It’s another near-miss in the hunt for a Paralympic medal. But in a season where she has struggled to find her groove fully, there’s no sense that anything was left on the track.
“I’m happy that I was able to pull something out of the bag. Obviously, with a season’s best, I gave everything I could this evening. Fourth is always a bit painful for me because it feels like I’m just stuck in that fourth or fifth place, but hopefully not for too much longer.”
Abassia Rahmani, a strong fifth in 100m T64 race
Sprinter Abassia Rahmani, Salto’s Swiss “blade runner,” finished a strong fifth in the Women’s 100m T64 category.
She achieved her main goal by reaching the final with a season’s best time of 13.06. In the final, Abassia was only four hundredths slower and left three competitors behind in 13.10. The Netherlands took a clean sweep, winning gold, silver, and bronze in the event.
The Paris 2024 Paralympic Games have shown what people with disabilities can achieve at the highest level when the barriers to success are removed. Salto has championed disabled athletes and Paralympians, and our commitment remains unwavering. We proudly support Catherine, Greta, and Abassia in achieving their best in sports and life.
