Natalija Eder

Banned from leaving the country for medal hunt

Natalija Eder is eagerly awaiting her fourth Paralympic Games.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Javelin thrower Natalija Eder wants to secure Austria's first medal at the Paralympic Games in Paris on Saturday in the Stade de France. The 44-year-old, bronze medalist in 2012 and 2016, explained in advance why she would almost rather throw in an empty stadium and why her family did not travel to Paris with her. 

The "Krone" reports from Paris

The Stade de France in Paris with a capacity of just under 81,000 spectators - for many athletics athletes, competing for Paralympic medals there is a dream come true. For Natalija Eder, only to a limited extent. "I'd prefer it to be quiet," laughs the 44-year-old. "If there's more noise, I can't hear what my coach is saying, whether I'm allowed to do my run-up or not. We blind people orient ourselves by what we hear, which is not so easy when there is a lot of noise."

"Anything is possible if someone gets along with me"
If Eder has her way, things can get loud after the competition. When the Styrian-born athlete, who spent her childhood in Belarus, has ideally won Austria's first precious metal at the 17th Paralympic Games in Paris. "The competition is fierce, but if I can beat anyone, anything is possible - right up to first place," says Eder. She already has two Paralympic medals at home, winning bronze in London in 2012 and bronze in Rio in 2016. Before the streak was broken three years ago in Tokyo, where she finished a thankless fourth.

Eder (left) with her coach Elisabeth Pauer.

(Bild: GEPA/GEPA pictures)

Eder, who had full sight as a child but has been impaired since suffering an eye disease at the age of 15, has been in Paris since Tuesday. Accompanied only by her trainer, family and friends stayed at home. "I told them not to come," said Eder, banning her loved ones from traveling to Paris. "If I knew they were there, it would only make me nervous and I would lose my concentration. But they'll all be keeping their fingers crossed together at home in front of the TV."

World Championship silver gives hope
Eder, who once came to the javelin throw via the pentathlon, gained self-confidence in mid-May at the World Championships in Kobe, Japan: the mother of two won the silver medal - her ninth precious metal in total at the World and European Championships. "That's when I saw that my form was right and that I could throw right at the front." Her distance of 38.52 meters was her best mark in eight years.