Malte Braunschweig

Started: He began swimming at age five at the BSV Medizin Marzahn club in Berlin, Germany. (Athlete, 22 Aug 2021; berliner-zeitung.de, 15 Nov 2019) Reason: He wanted to be a footballer but his parents said that swimming would help his impairment. He also followed his older brother Ole into the sport. (Athlete, 22 Aug 2021; berliner-zeitung.de, 15 Nov 2019) Additional Info: OLYMPIC / PARALYMPIC SIBLINGS His older brother Ole competed in swimming at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. "It's a really nice feeling that we're the first [German] sibling pair to go to the Olympic Games and the Paralympics," Malte said. "It's really cool to be able to say that you've left at least a small footprint in the history of the sport," Ole said. Ole helped Malte to combat bullying at school. "In sixth or seventh grade, this bullying was really extreme. [Ole] took people on [to defend me]. That gave me a lot of strength and helped me to trust people again," Malte said. (dw.com, 22 Jul 2024; paralympic.org, 29 Jul 2024)

Sporting Relatives: His older brother Ole has competed in swimming, and represented Germany at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 30 Jul 2024; olympics.com, 29 Jul 2024; berliner-zeitung.de, 15 Nov 2019)