Catherine Debrunner wins gold in the 5000 m. But the 29-year-old from Thurgau has much more in store for the Paralympics in Paris.
Catherine Debrunner has already competed in many arenas in her life as an athlete. Many people have cheered her on as she has won victories, medals and records. And yet: what she experienced this Saturday morning in the Stade de France still has her raving half an hour after crossing the finish line.
"I'm still blown away by the atmosphere. It was so loud in the stadium that I didn't even notice whether someone was riding behind me or not." The Thurgau native says this as a gold medal winner at the Paralympics in Paris. After winning gold in the 400 m in Tokyo three years ago, she now manages to leap to the front in her very first race in the French capital.
The call from her opponent
In the 5000 m, she and world record holder Susannah Scaroni lead the way for most of the race. The American once called out to her that they were alone and could increase the pace a little. Debrunner goes with her. And at this moment, a few laps before the end, the Swiss athlete feels a great sense of happiness, because she knows that no one can take the silver medal away from her.
But Debrunner has learned to win in recent years. And so she picks up the pace again in the final meters and takes around one and a half seconds off her American rival. "I was constantly riding in the red zone," admits Debrunner afterwards. "But I'm glad my intuition was good, so I was able to attack at the right moment."
In the end, Debrunner crossed the finish line with the Paralympic record of 10:43.62 minutes. But this next entry in the record books is of secondary importance to the world record holder over 100 m, 200 m, 400 m, 800 m and 1500 m. "At the Paralympics, the rank is more important than the time," says the 29-year-old.
The strict program
It is a sentence that shows the ambition with which Debrunner has traveled to Paris. To the city from which she left last year as the most successful medal collector at the World Championships with four gold and one silver. The gold medal in the 5000 m should be just the beginning of the golden games.
Debrunner will be competing in six disciplines until September 8th. She is at least one of the medal contenders in all of them. She has a chance of gold in all of them. But the recovery time is short. The 800 m preliminary race is already scheduled for Sunday morning, followed most likely by the final in the evening.
Debrunner says she is going into the next races with a very good feeling. "But I can't rest."
SDA
