Shock after falling from competitor
Markus Rehm provides first aid and flies to World Cup gold
07/15/2023 10:19 am
Markus Rehm maintains his exceptional position in athletics. At the Para World Championships in Paris, the 34-year-old confidently sailed to his 14th gold medal in a row. The fall of his training partner makes him “really emotional”. After that, Rehm announces that he will end the season early.
After a nerve-wracking evening, Markus Rehm took a deep breath. After all, with gold and a world championship record, he had fully achieved his goals. “You can’t jump a world record every day,” said the prosthetic long jumper after his sixth Para World Championship title in a row: “Especially not under these conditions and these emotions.”
Changing wind conditions and the fact that Rehm had to wait for the start of a race on each of his last four attempts made the situation more difficult. But even worse was the fall of the Greek Stylianos Malakopoulos, who has been his training partner in Leverkusen for a year. “That really knocked me out for a moment because it really didn’t look good,” Rehm admitted: “At that moment I got really emotional. Because I feared that he had really hurt himself and that we had become really good friends. I’ll call him as soon as I get out of here, but I’ve heard it’s not supposed to be that bad.”
The trainer of the two, the former javelin throw world champion Steffi Nerius, was still under the impression of the pictures when Malakopoulos was wheeled out of the stadium. “It was very nerve-wracking for all of us,” said Nerius: “But I’m super proud of Markus, how he managed the situation. I can’t remember that he’s ever had such a difficult competition due to the circumstances.” Pictures show how Rehm, together with Noah Bodelier, kneels next to Malakopoulos at the pit and takes care of the Greek.
Was it already with the record hunt for this year?
With 8.49 meters he still won with a huge lead of 1.10 meters. Since 2011, Rehm has won all 14 titles at World and European Championships and the Paralympics. “And I don’t think any Olympic athlete has jumped that far this year,” said Rehm. The annual world record is currently 8.42 meters. The last time another jumper jumped that far in Germany was nine years ago. Rehm had set the para world record at 8.72 meters 19 days before the World Championships.
However, Rehm is considering ending his competition season early. “I’m not quite sure if I’ll start anywhere again this year. But I don’t think so,” said the 34-year-old. “I have a bit of trouble with my foot.” He can train with it, “but it hurts. And I think I have to recover from it so that I can get through the winter well.” Because 2024 is an important year for Rehm. In May the rescheduled World Championships will take place in Kobe, in August the Paralympics will take place in Paris. And his dream is to be the first person to break the nine-meter sound barrier.
“If you don’t start dreaming now, you wouldn’t be a competitive athlete. You’re already starting to worry,” Rehm said before the World Cup. “He still has potential. Even the nine meters are now possible,” rejoiced his coach Nerius. However, it is important to approach the record of “legend” Powell step by step. Because the world record of 8.95 meters set in Tokyo in 1991 is “still a long way”, says Rehm.