Chemnitz medal hopes at the Paralympics

Swimmer Swen Michaelis from Chemnitz competes in London

The Paralympics begin tomorrow in London, with athletes from 165 nations competing for medals in 20 sports in 503 competitions. 150 Germans will be taking part in the Paralympics from 29 August to 9 September. The German Disabled Sports Federation (DBS) has nominated 88 men and 62 women and will be represented in London in 15 sports, with 34 track and field athletes and 21 swimmers making up the majority of the German team. Among them is the Chemnitz swimmer Swen Michaelis: the tax officer trains at both BFV Ascota Chemnitz and BV Leipzig e. V. and was successful at the 2000 and 2004 Paralympics, winning silver and bronze. In addition to Michaelis, other medal-winning Saxon Olympians include dressage rider Steffen Zeibig from SGV-Dresden, who won Olympic silver in 2008, and track and field athlete Siena Christen from SG Motor Freital. The visually impaired athletes compete in shot put and discus throwing. She is coached by Olympic champion Jürgen Schult. Three other Saxons from Leipzig are newcomers to the Paralympics: sitting volleyball player Christoph Herzog, track and field athlete Mathias Schulze and swimmer Martin Schulz are taking part in the Paralympic Games for the first time. The Saxon delegation is completed by swimmer Stefanie Weinberg and sitting volleyball player Alexander Schiffler.

A firm eye on the final: Swen Michaelis from Chemnitz has his first start at the Aquatics Centre in London on Thursday. The physically disabled swimmer with a deformity in both legs and his right arm is already experiencing his 4th Paralympic Summer Games. He will be on the starting block in five disciplines, with his sights firmly set on a place in the final. His first start will be in his favourite event, the 100m backstroke. This will be followed by the 400m freestyle, 200m medley, 50m butterfly and the 100m freestyle. Of course, his club mates from BFV Ascota Chemnitz e.V. are now keeping their fingers crossed for him: "We hope that Swen will be able to perform optimally and that the long training period will have paid off for him," says club chairman Uwe Barth.

A club with an Olympic tradition: this is the sixth time since 1992 that BFV Ascota has had club athletes take part in the Paralympics. Over the years, it has produced or coached six top athletes who have achieved numerous international successes and records in swimming. Club chairman Barth is one of them, as are Christiane Reppe, Maria Götze, Daniel Clausner, Andreas Hausmann and Swen Michaelis. The club is expecting him back in Chemnitz on 10 September - hopefully with precious metal.
While Michaelis is concentrating on the competition, another swimmer from Chemnitz is looking forward to the Games with a relaxed attitude: Christian Flemming. The mentally disabled swimmer is part of coach Claudia Lange's performance squad and has qualified for the Paralympic youth camp organised by the German Disabled Sports Youth (DBSJ). Youth camps have a long tradition - but Paralympic youth camps have only existed since 1992. Since then, the German Disabled Sports Youth (DBSJ) has organised Paralympic youth camps at all Paralympic Summer Games, and since 2010 also at Winter Games.