Johannes Floors knelt behind the finish line on the tartan track and looked at the floor of the Stade de France, breathing heavily. Then two arms wrapped around the disappointed para-sprinter. Irmgard Bensusan had run straight onto the track to her teammate. She helped Floors up, hugged him and spoke to him urgently. She encouraged him, spoke kindly to him. His face spoke a thousand volumes on that Friday evening.
Floors nodded to Bensusan and they hugged each other long and deeply before Floors went on his lap of honour in the stadium. It was their joint farewell to their shared sports career, because Imgard Bensusan will soon move back to her homeland.
It was the perfect evening, but unfortunately not for Johannes Floors, but for his competitor Hunter Woodhall. The American secured at the Paralympics – after his wife Tara Davis-Woodhall, who won the long jump at the Olympic Games – now also won the gold medal. A golden double pack. Floors had been unbeaten in his favorite discipline, the 400 meters, for seven years. The world record and the Paralympic record are next to his name. In Paris, however, he had to admit defeat.
I’ll miss her in our training group. But no matter where she goes, it will be a cool vacation spot.
Johannes Floors about Irmgard Bensusan
In the first 200 meters, the 29-year-old first pulled away from his field. After half a lap of the stadium, Woodhall slowly but surely caught up. The decision was made in the last 50 meters, and the American overtook the German para-sprinter. The Dutchman Olivier Hendriks also caught up. In a photo finish, Floors just managed to defend second place.
Due to a genetic defect in fibular joints, Floors made the decision to have both of his lower legs amputated at the age of 16. His main goal was to be pain-free. After this life-changing decision, he was drawn to para-athletics.
He won his first gold medal with the 4×100 meter relay at his first Paralympic Games in Rio in 2016. In Tokyo in 2021 he won his first individual victory over 400 meters. The Lower Saxon has also consistently won the title at world championships over the past six years. In addition to his sporting career, he continues to work as an orthopedic technology mechanic.
Floors had already taken part in the men’s 100-meter final on Monday evening and came in a disappointing fourth place. Was he in a bad mood after the race? Not for Floors – he was the first of the double-leg amputees to cross the finish line, thus achieving his main goal.
He felt confident about the upcoming 400-meter race. “Everything will be mixed up and I’ll bring it home,” he predicted. But it didn’t become reality. In Paris, Floors had to settle for second place. It remains to be seen whether and where he will end up at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
