Marcel Boettger

Started: He took up Para athletics in his mid-twenties. (waz.de, 06 Jun 2019) Reason: He was encouraged to try athletics by his school teachers but was not keen on the sport at first, preferring football and handball. It was only after a coach from the TV Wattenscheid 01 club kept asking him to try athletics that he agreed to go to a training session. "At school they said I should definitely do athletics. I played football in my spare time and tried handball. But I was just not interested in athletics." (waz.de, 18 Jul 2019; wr.de, 06 Jun 2019) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (waz.de, 19 Jul 2023) Additional Info: OCCUPATION He has worked as a physiotherapist at the Branscheidt Therapy Centre in Annen, Germany. "I wanted to become a physiotherapist. So I thought, just be brazen and ask the Employment Agency if [they would] fund the training." (Westfalen Sport, 01 Feb 2020; wr.de, 06 Jun 2019)