Manuela Schaer

Started: She took up Para athletics in 1998 at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil, Switzerland. (Athlete, 02 Dec 2010, 14 Jul 2017) Reason: "I was a runner before I got injured [paraplegia] and loved sports." (Athlete, 14 Jul 2017) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (swissparalympic.ch, 18 Jul 2023) Milestones: Her five medals at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo was the most medals of any colour won by a Swiss athlete in Tokyo. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) Awards: She was named Paraplegic of the Year for 2022 by the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation. (zentralplus.ch, 12 Jul 2023) She was nominated for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability at the 2020 Laureus World Sports Awards, but did not win. (laureus.com, 01 Jan 2021) She was named 2019 Paralympic Sportsperson of the Year at the 2019 Swiss Sports Awards. (newinzurich.com, 15 Dec 2019) In 2014 she received a special achievement award from the Swiss Paralympic Committee. (swissparalympic.ch, 24 Oct 2014) Additional Info: CHANGING DISTANCE Earlier in her career she focused on sprint and middle-distance events, but in 2013 she began competing in longer track events as well as marathons. "I've been racing for so many years and then just have to have a change and it was not the only thing I changed. I also started working with different people, I changed my material, my racing chair and everything. It felt a bit like a new chapter, a new episode. So it was just the time." (paralympic.org, 13 Nov 2020; Abbot World Marathon Majors YouTube channel, 26 Sep 2019) OTHER ACTIVITIES She has served as an ambassador for Right To Play Switzerland, an organisation that helps children in disadvantaged countries take part in sports programmes. (manuelaschaer.ch, 07 Aug 2015)