Marcel Hug is just short of his seventh gold medal at the Paralympics
Image: Keystone
Marcel Hug waves to the audience at the medal ceremony
Image: Keystone
Marcel Hug is just short of his seventh gold medal at the Paralympics
Image: Keystone
Marcel Hug waves to the audience at the medal ceremony
Image: Keystone
Marcel Hug narrowly misses out on the gold medal in the 5000 m at the Paralympics in Paris. The 38-year-old from Thurgau cannot hide his disappointment, but sees the silver medal as an incentive.
At 10.14 pm the time has come. Marcel Hug's name echoes through the vast expanse of the gradually emptying Stade de France. The 38-year-old is standing on a podium at the bottom of the tartan track on Saturday evening. He has swapped his racing clothes for the official attire that Swiss Paralympic has provided for such a "Victory Ceremony": Blue trousers, white polo shirt and a red jacket over it. As the noise level rises, his name is pronounced over the loudspeakers with a protracted Ü and the fans begin to clap, he moves forward slightly, raises his right hand and waves to the audience with a hint of a smile on his lips.
Mixed feelings
It is a procedure that Hug has gone through countless times in his long career. After all, the man from Thurgau has won countless medals. But it is an unusual picture. For once, the Swiss is not standing in the middle, but on the right-hand side as seen from his position.
Next to him is Daniel Romanchuk, the American, who was half a second faster than him in this 5000 m race, causing Hug a chaos of emotions as he tries to analyze what has happened. On the one hand, there is the joy of having won his 13th medal at the Paralympics. On the other hand, there is also a certain disappointment in the words of the man from eastern Switzerland. "It hurts a little that it wasn't quite enough to get to the front," he says.
Hug speaks of a "difficult" and at times even "boring" race. For a long time, it was him who led the field. However, as his rivals all took a wait-and-see approach and nobody made any attempt to take the lead, the pace dropped again and again, making it impossible for Hug to create a certain gap to the rest of the field with a group of athletes.
The difficult fate of the favorite
He tried to attack several times. Unfortunately, that didn't work out, says Hug. "I did what I could. Daniel simply had the fresher arms at the end." It's the explanation he gives as a fair sportsman. At that moment, however, his mind is also spinning with thoughts of what he could have done differently so that it would have been enough for his seventh Paralympic gold medal in the end.
After all, this is far from the first time that he has found himself in a passive field of participants in a race. This approach by his opponents is also a form of recognition. As Hug is the favorite in every race in which he competes, his rivals try to maintain an open starting position with a passive race design and only seek a decision in the sprint. "It's a possible tactic, I just have to find an answer to it," says Hug.
Would he have to attack even more and run the risk of wasting even more energy while his opponents can save energy in the slipstream? It's a thought that flashes through his mind during the first brief analysis. It does not satisfy him.
The bad news for the competition
It's a tricky task that Marcel Hug was given at his first final in the Stade de France. "I now have some time to think about how I can solve this task," says Hug, who will compete in the 1500 m preliminary heat on Monday. On Thursday, the 800 m is on the program, followed by the marathon.
Marcel Hug has arrived with the aim of taking home at least one gold medal. It didn't work out in his first attempt, but the four-time gold medal winner from the Tokyo Games remains confident. He says: "Now I've got extra incentive". That might not be good news for the competition.
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