Sprinter Nicole Nicoleitzik won her second bronze medal at the Para Athletics World Championships in Paris. In the 200-meter final of the T36 class, the 27-year-old was beaten only by Danielle Aitchison from New Zealand and Mali Lovell from Australia.
Nicoleitzik had already secured bronze in the 100 meters last Wednesday, it was her first medal at the world championships. She was the first German to win her second medal at the Para World Championships in Paris.
“A medal rarely comes alone,” said the 28-year-old from Püttlingen, who, despite suffering from Achilles tendon problems, also sprinted over 200 meters to the bronze medal. It was a particular pleasure for her after she was disqualified from bronze over this distance at the Paralympics two years ago.
Nicoleitzik with successful revenge against Argentinian Martinez
“It was hard. I will never forget that day,” said Nicoleitzik: “Since then I’ve set myself the goal of showing the Argentine in Paris who she messed with.” Yanina Martinez, who got bronze at the time, was only seventh on Saturday. “All the better that I now have two. Even the over 100 was unexpected. I’m fast and everything, unbelievable.” Her older sister Claudia has won a total of 19 medals at major international events.
The other Germans remained without precious metal on Saturday. Lisa-Martin Wagner (Bad Oeynhausen) finished seventh in the F64 class in the shot put, but set a new personal best of 9.12 m. Sprinter Max Marzillier (Königs Wusterhausen) took fifth place over the 400 m in the T13 starting class.
The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) now has nine medals (3x gold, 2x silver, 4x bronze). Including the gold medal for Markus Rehm in the long jump, which has endured after a protest by the US team.
World Cup goes until Monday
The Para Athletics World Championships, which will last until Monday, 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).