Paralympics 2024

“Because we all have the same fate”

Thomas Geierspichler and Günther Matzinger (right) provided Salzburg's finest moments at the Paralympics.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA, )

Walter Pfaller is the "Chef de Mission" at the Paralympics in Paris. In an interview with Die Krone, he explains why this major event in the French capital is even more familiar to the 66-year-old than the Olympics. The head of the delegation also talks about Salzburg's great moments.

Few Austrians know the Paralympics as well as Walter Pfaller. The Salzburg native has only missed the Games for athletes with disabilities once since 1976 - in Sydney in 2000. In Paris (August 28 to September 8), he is the "Chef de Mission" of the Austrian contingent. In his active career (athletics and basketball), he won gold in the pentathlon in Seoul in 1988. However, too much has changed since then to compare these successes with later ones: "The possibilities have become completely different in the meantime." 

Walter Pfaller is Austria's head of delegation in Paris.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Pfaller particularly remembers Thomas Geierspichler's marathon gold medal in 2008 with a world record. In total, "Rolling Tom" won nine medals. The successes of Günther Matzinger, who became double Olympic champion in London 2012 in the 400 and 800 meters ("before the start there was the first live entry on TV"), would be on the same level. Salzburg has won 55 medals so far, 18 of them gold.

"Always fascinating"
In Tokyo three years ago, however, the province came away empty-handed. This year, Cornelia Wibmer (handbike) and Natalija Eder (javelin throw) will be competing for Salzburg in the French capital, and the stakes are high. "You have to watch Wibmer, she is celebrating her debut. Eder has already won bronze twice (2012 and 2016, note)," says the head of the delegation.

Pfaller is looking forward to the "many nations and emotions" at the event. "It's a bit more familiar here than at the Olympics. Maybe because we all have the same fate." Otherwise, the jack-of-all-trades can only marvel: "It's very interesting to see the disabilities with which the athletes can achieve these top performances. After all these years, it's still fascinating to me."