Marcel Hug wins the marathon in Paris and achieves his goal of a gold medal at this year's Paralympics.
Arriving at the finish line right in front of the imposing Hotel des Invalides with its golden dome, Marcel Hug takes a few minutes for himself. His coach Paul Odermatt goes up to him and grabs both his shoulders. It is an intimate moment between athlete and coach after Hug celebrated a clear victory in the marathon in his last outing at the Paralympics in Paris. The 38-year-old from Thurgau wins his seventh gold medal at the Paralympic Games. After the 42.195 kilometer marathon through the streets of Paris, Hug has to complete a marathon interview. The exhaustion is palpable in his words.
Marcel Hug, you came to Paris with the goal of winning a gold medal at all costs. Now you've done it. How do you feel?
"It's a mixture of very, very satisfied and very happy that I managed to win the gold medal. But now I'm also extremely exhausted. Mentally, but also physically. And everything hurts, especially my back from these cobblestones on the course. Everything was vibrating the whole time. It was tough."
You mention the course. A considerable part of the course is covered with cobblestones, which caused a lot of discussion in the run-up to the race. What was it like?
"It really is a challenge for us wheelchair racers and also rather unusual with so many cobblestones. But we were able to adapt to it, and in the end the course is the same for everyone. I made the best of it, but it was really tough."
At the start of the race, the Chinese rider Jin Hua was glued to your rear wheel and seemed to be challenging you, just like on the track. But in the end you pulled out a lead of almost four minutes. This time your tactics worked.
"Yes, it worked very well. I wanted to put the pressure on from the start so that we could get away. Then we supported each other well and I was also able to benefit from the slipstream. He also did a good job of leading. But then I noticed that he was struggling in the technical sections. That's why I kept pushing a little faster after the corners. That's how I got away at some point."
You have now won the Paralympic marathon for the third time in a row after Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2021. What does that mean to you?
"A great deal. It's a great end to these Paralympics for me. I achieved my goal with the gold medal and won a complete set of medals. That's really great."
Before the Games, some expected you to win four gold medals again, as you did in Tokyo. Do you feel this expectation?
"I can't expect four gold medals, that would be too extreme. But I definitely wanted one. The race over 5000 m (silver) was difficult, I should perhaps have raced differently. But I got the maximum out of the 1500 m (silver) and 800 m (bronze). In the marathon anyway. I'm very happy with all the races."
Did you compete in your last Paralympic marathon today?
"I have no idea. Los Angeles 2028 is still a long way off and I've always said that it's unlikely that I'll still be there. For now, I'm enjoying what I experienced in Paris. Then it's on to the Major Series marathon races in the fall. After that, I'll decide what to do next. I don't know if these were my last Paralympics, but I enjoyed them as if they were."
