Andreas Walser

Started: He began Para athletics in 2022. (teamdeutschland-paralympics.de, 06 Jul 2023) Reason: Originally an American footballer, he became interested in athletics after watching the decathlon event at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo on television. "I said to my brother that I'm not that far away from the guys in the decathlon. I'll start with athletics, then I can easily train for Paris 2024." He then got in contact with Para athletics coach Carlos Avila de Borba and tried the long jump. "As a defensive end [in American football], I exploded into opponents. This explosive power is useful to me when it comes to long jump." (sueddeutsche.de, 11 Jul 2023; teamdeutschland-paralympics.de, 06 Jul 2023) Ambition: To win a medal at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. Outside of sport, he plans to work as a high school teacher. (teamdeutschland-paralympics.de, 06 Jul 2023; sport-in-augsburg.de, 06 Jul 2023)