Special meeting

Thiem: “It’s a great challenge”

Dominic Thiem met the Spanish wheelchair tennis player Cisco Garcia in Madrid. The former tennis star also sat in a wheelchair to put himself in Garcia's shoes.

(Bild: Red Bull Content Pool/Alberto Nevado)

A very special experience! Dominic Thiem met Spanish wheelchair tennis player Cisco Garcia in Madrid and gained unique insights into his life during an afternoon in a wheelchair. Like Thiem and Garcia, Austrian wheelchair tennis player Nico Langmann, a good friend of Dominic, is also playing a major role in this year's Wings for Life World Run.

Cisco Garcia suffered a spinal cord injury in a snowboarding accident in Austria in 2015 and has been in a wheelchair ever since. After a difficult start, he found a new perspective in tennis. "The day with Cisco was incredibly moving. He is a real inspiration," says Dominic Thiem, who was the only Austrian to win the US Open in 2020. Garcia showed Thiem the challenges of life in a wheelchair.

"There are so many obstacles in a city that you wouldn't otherwise notice," says Thiem. When the exceptional athlete sat in the wheelchair himself, he was able to feel first-hand how much strength is needed to get around. High kerbs, uneven roads and the lack of elevators suddenly presented extreme obstacles.

Thiem said: "I only spent a few minutes, there are many people who have to spend their whole lives in a wheelchair. It is a great challenge to overcome the obstacles of a normal day for them. Huge respect for all those in wheelchairs!"

"There is real hope"
"I want to help find a cure for paraplegia," says Dominic Thiem. "If we manage to find a cure in the near future, that would be simply incredible." This year, the 31-year-old will be at the start of the 12th edition of the Wings for Life World Run in Vienna on May 4, running for those who can't.

Nico Langmann is the best wheelchair tennis player in Austria. Here he played at a show event at the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.

(Bild: Upper Austria Ladies Linz/Matthias Hauer)

One of the faces of the mega event
Austria's best wheelchair tennis player Nico Langmann is also looking forward to the Wings for Life World Run: "After an elbow operation, I'm already training with a lot of energy for May 4th. The Viennese is also one of the faces of the mega-event this year.

Of course, he knows the Spaniard Cisco Garcia, who is taking part in the Wings for Life World Run with his wife in Valencia this year, very well: "He's a great guy and is very well known in Spain. Cisco shows how life with a disability, sport and family works. He has two small children and does everything brilliantly."

Langmann's book is also very special. "How to give up a dream to win a life" has already sold over 5,000 copies. Nico says: "It's a great thing, especially as all the proceeds go to the Nico Langmann Foundation." With this foundation, he gives children with limited mobility in Austria access to sport by providing them with sports wheelchairs and sports equipment.

The world's largest running event
The Wings for Life World Run is the largest fundraising event for the Wings for Life Foundation and the world's largest running event. In 2024, 265,818 registered participants took to the starting line worldwide, raising 8.1 million euros for research. On 4 May 2025, the run will enter its 12th edition - with the aim of mobilizing even more people and collecting more donations for a future without spinal cord injury. To register, go to www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com.