Catherine Debrunner experienced a history-making Paralympics in Paris with five gold and one silver medal. The 29-year-old from Thurgau sometimes surprises even herself with her successes.
Around 4400 athletes have competed at the Paralympics in Paris over the past two weeks. If they are ranked by medals won, Catherine Debrunner makes it onto the podium.
Together with the Italian swimmer Stefano Raimondi, Catherine Debrunner, the high-flyer in athletics, ranks second in the ranking of the most successful athletes at Paris 2024 with her five gold and one silver medal. Only the Chinese swimmer Yuyan Jiang won more with seven gold medals.
Two-year break
It shows what an exceptional performance Debrunner achieved in Paris. The 29-year-old competed in six events. On the track, she won gold in the 5000 m, 1500 m, 800 m and in her favorite discipline, the 400 m, in some cases with a clear lead. Only in the 100 m was she beaten by British sprint specialist Samantha Kinghorn and had to make do with silver.
Watching Debrunner go from success to success seemingly effortlessly, it is hard to imagine that not so long ago, athletics was not a profession for the athlete from Thurgau, but just one of many activities: after the 2016 Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, she only trained when she felt like it. In the following two years, she completed her training as a primary school teacher and spent an exchange semester in Lausanne.
Teaching is one of Debrunner's great passions. But it is also a passion that, as she realizes at some point, takes too many resources away from her to make it to the top of the world in athletics. When she met Arno Mul at a training camp in 2019, her passion for athletics and her ambition to become one of the fastest women in the world was rekindled.
Lots of sleep, few distractions
In order to work with the Dutch coach, Debrunner has since spent a lot of time at the national training center Papendal in Arnhem. Debrunner is now a professional and trains Mul a team that brings together athletes from all over the world. They call themselves the "Red Velvet Racing Team" because the pastry of the same name was once very popular at a training camp.
But the sweet temptation should not give the impression that Debrunner's path to the world class was an easy one. On the contrary. It is characterized by numerous hours of training and incredible self-discipline. "I just try to be the best Catherine Debrunner I can be," says the athlete. This also involves sacrifices. During competitions, she uses a different phone number so that she can't be distracted from her focus on the sport. She also has a manager who takes care of media inquiries and her social media channels.
"I sleep a lot and concentrate on my competitions," says Debrunner after winning her third gold medal on the track and being asked by a French journalist about her recipe for success. It is a question she is often asked. But one that cannot be broken down to a single factor.
"There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle that help me to achieve my performance," says Debrunner. She is referring to her environment, her coach, but also role models such as Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär, who have shown her that it is possible to make it to the top of the world from Switzerland.
Even better? "Difficult"
As she stands in the finish area after the Paris Marathon on Sunday, Debrunner can feel the strain of the last few days. She talks more slowly than usual and, now that she has historic Paralympics behind her, she is surprised at what she has achieved. Back then, when she stopped working as a teacher, her only goal was to be able to concentrate fully on sport, says Debrunner.
"Nobody would have thought that I would be so successful." She is not only thinking of the Paralympics. She is also thinking of last year's World Championships, which were held at the Stade Charléty in Paris and brought Debrunner four gold and one silver medal. Or her award as "Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" when she was presented with the Laureus Award in - how could it be otherwise - Paris that same year. "Paris is already a happy place for me," says Debrunner.
The next happy place will be Los Angeles, where the next Paralympics will be held in 2028. But can the successes of Paris even be surpassed? Debrunner says it will be difficult. "Maybe these Games in Paris will remain my best Paralympics."
Her coach Arno Mul once said: "If you're fast, it's easy to get faster. And Catherine is incredibly fast." So the high-flyer could perhaps fly even higher.
SDA
