Irmgard Bensusan successfully defended her title over 200 meters at the Para Athletics World Championships in Paris.
The 32-year-old from Leverkusen ran to the gold medal in the final of the T64 starting class on Monday evening (July 17th, 2023) in 26.82 seconds, just like four years ago in Dubai.
The new title came as a surprise to the 2019 double world champion. Bensusan now works 30 hours a week and has reduced her training schedule accordingly.
Fourth world title for Bensusan: “Didn’t even dream of gold”
“I never even dreamed of gold“said the native South African. “I was hoping for fourth place to get a slot for the Paralympics. My time was good but I thought the others were faster“, said the happy world champion.
Over 100 meters she was only sixth in Paris, over the longer sprint distance she now won on the final day of the World Championships with a lead of 26 hundredths over Dutchman Kimberly Alkemda. Overall, it’s the fourth world title for the 32-year-old from Leverkusen, who has a paralyzed leg and won five silver medals at the Paralympics.
Müller-Rottgard disqualified
Katrin Müller-Rottgard came in second in the final of the T12 starting class over 200 meters. However, since the 41-year-old and her guide Noel-Philippe Fiener let go of the tape a few centimeters before the finish, they were disqualified and missed out on the silver medal
The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) has ten medals (4x gold, 2x silver, 4x bronze) before the last competitions on Monday evening.
World Cup as a dress rehearsal for the Paralympics
The Para Athletics World Championships are a kind of dress rehearsal for the Paralympics next year (August 28 to September 8, 2024), which will also take place in the French capital.
At the previous World Championships in Dubai in 2019, the German team had won eleven precious metals in ninth place (7x gold, 2x silver, 2x bronze).