Paralympics: Paralympic quantum leap through social skills

Javelin thrower Mathias Mester missed out on a medal at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio. Nevertheless, he was one of the German activists with the greatest reach. On the return flight, the 1.42 meter tall athlete lay down in the overhead compartment above his seat and slept. A photo of it spread rapidly. Soon after its arrival, it had more than a million views. The “Bild” headline: “Mester flies back in the hand luggage compartment.”

Mester ended his sporting career in 2021, after which things really started in the media. He was a guest on talk shows, took part in the RTL program “Let’s Dance”, published a biography and gave lectures. In his posts on Instagram, where he has around 235,000 followershe also wants to provide information about the everyday lives of people with disabilities. “I don’t like it when people look at such topics with pity,” he says: “You can get much, much further by having fun. Fun brings people together and is a great platform.«

It wasn’t long ago that health magazines in particular reported on the Paralympics. There was often talk of “fate,” of athletes who were “tied” to a wheelchair. The focus of the reporting was on disability, not on athletic performance. Athletes like Mester now illustrate how much the Paralympic movement has changed. Sporting success is important, but not the only criterion: with quick wit, sponsors and professional management, Paralympians can become influential influencers.

The most important stage for these influencers opens this Wednesday. Around 4,400 athletes from 167 countries are taking part in the 17th Summer Paralympics in Paris. The German team includes 143 active participants and five guides. Among them are experienced, well-known and medal-winning leading figures such as track and field athletes Markus Rehm and Niko Kappel, but also 57 athletes who are taking part in the Paralympics for the first time.

“Most of our athletes can be put in front of the microphone and they can just say sentences,” says Karl Quade, head of mission for the German Paralympians: “They have a high level of social skills, whether at work or in the family.” In the Olympic field, Adds Quade, he sometimes has the feeling that the athletes are somewhat limited in their socialization: “Because they get into sports very early, in sports school or in the Bundeswehr.”

Quade has dealt extensively with the biographies of the German Paralympians. He doesn’t want to generalize, but he believes that many athletes may develop an awareness of the community because of their disability. The shot putter Kappel has long been active in political committees for the CDU. As an orthopedic technician, the sprinter Johannes Floors also wants to encourage people with prostheses to move more. The badminton player Rick Hellmann works as a neuroscientist at the Berlin Charité and deals with spinal cord injuries.

Of course, the Paralympians are not generally the better or more idealistic athletes, says communications consultant Holger Schmidt, who previously reported on seven Paralympic Games as a journalist. Such an attitude would be patronizing: “There would always be an ‘even though’ in it,” he says. “So even though they are disabled, they have this or that characteristic.” Nevertheless, sponsors are increasingly emphasizing the Paralympians’ social awareness in their advertising campaigns. Among them are health insurance companies, cooperative banks and medium-sized craft businesses.

These developments have allowed the Paralympic movement to grow. The German Disabled Sports Association (DBS) has expanded its office and intensified its cooperation with Olympic associations. He organizes talent days and promotes the school competition “Youth train for Paralympics”. DBS President Friedhelm Julius Beucher speaks of a quantum leap, but he is not yet satisfied. Many sports facilities and schools are not barrier-free. Many trainers and officials in clubs do not provide any services for disabled members. And the overwhelming majority of people with disabilities do not dare to exercise.

The Paralympics in Paris will now provide spectacular images. The opening ceremony this Wednesday will not take place in the stadium, but in the city center: on the Place de la Concorde and the Champs-Élysées. “Paris can be the next stage of development for the Paralympics,” says Andrew Parsons, President of the International Paralympic Committee. The IPC also works with YouTube and Tiktok for the games. Thousands of videos, clips and reels will be available in 175 countries. It seems as if the media growth of para-influencers is far from over.