While all the finalists of the 100-meter sprint had already left the track, Léon Schäfer stood there frozen on Monday evening, staring at the scoreboard. Pure bewilderment was evident on his face. With his hands clasped above his head, reality seemed to be slowly catching up with him.
Another disappointing fourth place for the Germans’ big medal hopes at the Paralympics in Paris. After the Para Long Jump competition Schäfer was also unable to deliver the desired performance over 100 metres.
After his successful preliminary run on Sunday, the 27-year-old said, “Gold would make me forget the long jump.” He was confident and sure of victory for the final on Monday. But he didn’t win gold, silver or bronze. A photo finish brought the decision, with the American Ezra Frech emerging as the surprise winner.
“A very strange race,” said Schäfer in conclusion. He had actually assessed his start on Monday evening as better than in the preliminary round – and the race had also felt good towards the end. He could not, even with the best will in the world, pinpoint the reason for this. “I simply cannot explain this result,” he said.
A few weeks ago, he won gold in the 100 meters and in the long jump at the World Championships in Kobe. That was also his goal for the Paralympics – to win twice. In the end, he took two fourth places. After the sprint final, he had a time of 12.12 seconds. Not bad at all, if you ask the Leverkusen native.
Nevertheless, he had originally aimed for eleven seconds. Despite the double disappointment, Schäfer performed with his usual confident and calm manner. He knows what he is capable of running, but was probably not able to deliver it today.
Immediately after Schäfer’s depressing race, the German para-athletics team had reason to celebrate elsewhere. Sprinter Felix Streng finished third in a close race, securing the bronze medal ahead of his teammate Johannes Floors. Streng’s real goal was to defend his title, as the 26-year-old had secured Paralympic gold in Tokyo 2021.
“As a sprinter, you go into the stadium to win the race,” said Streng. Unfortunately, he was not able to put this plan into action today. Nevertheless, he is proud of his performance. The exceptional athlete won a total of six medals in three Paralympics. The Germans’ gold hopes now lie with Markus Rehm in the long jump and Johannes Floors in the 400 meters.
