Nico Langmann

Started: He took up the sport in 2007 at age 10 at Tennis Club Oberwaltersdorf in Austria. (Athlete, 24 Jun 2016) Reason: He grew up in a family that was active in a number of sports and joined them in playing tennis. (fm4.orf.at, 25 Sep 2017) Additional Info: EARLY DAYS Following his 1999 road accident, he spent one year of rehabilitation in Moscow, Russian Federation. "In Austria you go to a rehabilitation centre for paraplegia. There you would learn how to deal with the situation. But in my time, in 1999, these centres were not yet geared for children. My parents went everywhere and they were told, 'Please find some place else'. Almost discouraged, my parents found a place for therapy, it was in Moscow. We spent a whole year there. Nobody could speak English and my mother couldn't speak a word of Russian, we had to communicate with our hands and feet. So, I got to know the Russian way of rehabilitation, when I was three years old, I started lifting weights and training hard. That was my first 'therapy'. This constant challenge became an attitude to life that I took home to Vienna after that year in Russia. You are not allowed to make your life as pleasant and barrier-free as possible. Quite the opposite! You have to have as many barriers as possible and learn to overcome them. My parents also adhered to this philosophy. I wasn't allowed to use a wheelchair at home until I was age 13. That sounds almost cruel, because you would think that you shouldn't just take a wheelchair away from a paraplegic child. But that was exactly the attitude. So, I climbed up and crawled everywhere. What I learned from those experiences, don't quarrel with fate, but act solution-oriented." (redbull.com, 14 Feb 2023) FOUNDATION In 2022 he established the Nico Langmann Foundation in Austria. "We want as many children with an impairment as possible to play sports in Austria. For example, if you can't afford a wheelchair, monoski or handbike, we'll pay for it. I was lucky enough to be injured in a car accident. That's why the insurance paid for my first tennis wheelchair. But if you were born paralysed or fall from a tree, you would get nothing. I've always found that brutally unfair. That is why I set up this foundation." (salzburgtennis.at, 18 Sep 2023; sportlermitherz.at, 12 Sep 2023; todaytimeslive.com, 18 Sep 2022) BOOK In January 2023 he released an autobiography titled 'Wie man einen Traum aufgibt, um ein Leben zu gewinnen' [How to Give Up a Dream to Win a Life]. (heute.at, 12 Jan 2023)