As Irmgard Bensusan turns onto the finishing straight, the two Dutch women Kimberly Alkemade and Marlene van Gansewinkel have pulled well ahead. In the 200-meter sprint, she is level with the Canadian Marissa Papaconstantinou. Step by step, the para-sprinter fights her way forward and leaves her competitor behind. As Bensusan crosses the finish line, pure joy is written all over her face. In her last Paralympic Games She secured the bronze medal on Tuesday evening at the Stade de France.
Originally comes 33-year-old Bensusan from Pretoria in South Africa. She has always been very passionate about sports and spent a lot of time training in athletics. Since a bad fall over a hurdle at the age of 18, the para-athlete can no longer control her right foot due to nerve damage in her right lower leg. However, her disability was not recognized in her home country, so her dream of a sporting career seemed to be over. Her mother contacted the German Disabled Sports Association at the time. Bensusan came to Leverkusen and stayed.
Bensusan’s nickname “Aunt Irmi” already reveals something about the sprinter’s close relationship with her club and her training group. “They are family,” says Bensusan. They help each other as friends and teammates. As one of the older ones, she pays particular attention to the younger ones in the group and is always happy to look after them.
Bensusan starts one last time over 100 meters
She has been part of the Bayer family for ten years – and that time is now really coming to an end. With the Paralympics in Paris, she is saying goodbye to many things at once. To competitive sport, to Leverkusen and to Germany in general. The five-time silver medalist is returning home to South Africa. “You can tell it’s time to go,” says Bensusan.
Tuesday turns out to be a Paralympic farewell like something out of a picture book. Bensusan does her lap of honour in the Stade de France, the German flag in her hands. She is cheered by friends and family who have travelled there just for this competition. It is her moment, but not quite her last on the biggest stage. The Leverkusen athlete will be competing in the 100 metres for the last time on the fifth and sixth of September.
On Tuesday, she could hardly put her feelings into words because of all the joy and emotion. “I’ll never have that feeling again in my life,” she says. “I’ve really internalized it and said to myself: enjoy it.” The bronze medalist wants to take in all the impressions, the entire atmosphere and mood as best she can. She will continue competitive sport for another year or two. But there will be no more Paralympic Games for her.
Irmgard Bensusan was part of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen for over ten years and took part in many exciting competitions. By taking part in the Paralympics in Paris, she feels like she has finally completed her sporting career and her dream. “I am doing these last Paralympics for my inner child. The young girl who was on the track and loved the sport even back then,” says Bensusan.
Despite the sad farewell, she is looking forward to the future. Being able to spend time with her family again is something very special for Bensusan. She wants a somewhat normal life, even if she will probably never completely say goodbye to her sport. What will she miss most in Leverkusen? “Definitely the people,” says Irmgard Bensusan: “This is my second home and it will remain so forever.”
