Merle Marie Menje

Started: "I started with wheelchair racing in 2012, and then with Nordic skiing in 2013." (tagesspiegel.de, 29 Aug 2021) Reason: She was offered the opportunity to try wheelchair racing when she was attending a national championships in 2011. "From then on I started to train and compete and that became more and more intense over time and became my great passion." (sportfrauen.net, 04 Oct 2021; suedkurier.de, 19 Aug 2021) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris and the 2026 Paralympic Winter Games in Milan-Cortina. (suedkurier.de, 03 Mar 2024) Awards: She was named 2021 Young Para Athlete of the Year by the German Disabled Sports Association [DBS]. (dbs-npc.de, 07 Dec 2021) Additional Info: MULTI-SPORT ATHLETE She has competed in Para cross-country skiing at international level. Her parents encouraged her to try cross-country skiing as a secondary sport. "It wasn't the plan to do this [skiing] as a second competitive sport. Somehow it developed like that. Both sports complement each other very well. From a purely athletic point of view, the applied muscle groups are relatively the same. For cross-country skiing, however, you need stronger abdominal and back muscles to keep your balance and manoeuvre. I don't have a preference [between athletics and skiing]. I like the freedom in both sports, the technique, the fun of movement, and the speed you can get. I really like both and especially the combination. I just love the variety because it gives me a lot of mental and physical motivation to set new incentives." (suedkurier.de, 03 Mar 2024; tagesspiegel.de, 29 Aug 2021)