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Journalism of Courage
When para athlete Hamza Gulec broke the adapter in his prosthetic running blade while practising on the warm-up track on Monday evening, right before his competition, two technicians ran in with their tools from the white hangar nearby. Minutes later, the blade was fixed, much to the Turkish long jumper’s relief. Gulec, a double leg amputee, went on to jump a new personal best, setting a championship record at 6.63 m in the T61 category of the men’s long jump at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi.
“It is rare that a jumping blade has such an issue right before the event but when it happens, it can hamper the mindset of the athlete. The idea is to make sure that para athletes don’t have to worry about last-minute wear and tear,” says Heinrich Popow, 2012 Paralympic gold medallist sprinter and now a technical contractor with German company Ottobock.
At the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, the venue of the championship, is Ottobock’s workshop, called the technical service area. At all times, the workshop has 10 qualified technicians led by Popow, who are ready to repair the equipment used by para athletes – from running and jumping blades to wheelchairs, wheelchair-racing bikes and walking prosthetics.
With 1,200 para athletes from 104 countries participating in the competition, the technical service area is most busy just before a competition or immediately after it ends.
“Right before the morning and evening sessions, our hands are full with requests. We also repair equipment which we receive in advance from athletes,” says Smruti Ranjan Nayak, one of the Indian technicians working with Ottobock.
At the workshop is an entire section of spare parts, which is stocked with adapters for blades, brakes for wheelchair racing bikes, wheels for wheelchairs, and silicon in-liners to fix the blade.
“Usually, the athletes come up with basic requests – a loose screw in the blade or a patchy sole that may hamper their stride. Most of our time is spent fixing the smaller issues. We have our team ready at the final call room in case an incident like Gulec’s happens,” says Popow.
The team of technicians work in different shifts to ensure that both the sessions are covered and nothing is missed. “We have more than 10 technicians working in both the sessions and the turnaround time is quick enough to not let anyone go on track with faulty equipment,” says Popow.
The German company, which operates in the field of orthopedic technology, has been associated with the Paralympics since 1988 and provides its services and equipment free of cost to the para athletes.
The easiest equipment to fix, says Popow, are the blades. “They usually don’t have many issues but it becomes a problem when there is a broken blade. It can’t be repaired. In that case, we just replace it for free.”
However, wheelchair racing bikes can be tricky. “In case of a flat tyre on the bike, it is not an issue but it becomes a little tricky when there is a faulty braking system or a broken handle,” says Nayak.
“Athletes use different bikes – Honda, BMW and many more. All of these bikes have different braking systems, some have side brakes and some have front brakes and their sizes are also different but we make sure to put at least two technicians on the job when a case like this comes in,” she explains.
The technical service area is a lifeline. On Thursday, September 25, men’s discus thrower (sit and throw) Priyanshu Kumar faced a last-minute hurdle. “The screw on my wheelchair came loose just before the event, but it was repaired quickly. It’s essential to have these workshops at competitions,” Kumar says.
Another challenge is to make sure every equipment, even if it is not Ottobock’s, has matching spare parts. “A lot of athletes use blades, prosthetics, and other equipment from different manufacturers but thanks to the standardisation, we can fix most of the problems with spare parts available with us,” says Heinrich.
Para athletes also take time to get used to the equipment that has been repaired.
“Since not every athlete uses our equipment, it can be challenging for them to adjust to the newly repaired part. Given that blades and prosthetics act like a body part, athletes usually take some time to adjust to it,” Popow says. “However, that is where the mental resolve of the athlete comes into play, like how Gulec did with the newly repaired blade.”
Popow, a former para athlete, transitioned into a technical contractor after a career that saw him winning seven Paralympic and seven World Championships medals. “Being a former para athlete, I know how important my blade is for me or how important the wheelchair bike can be for the racer. The reason why I turned to the technical side of the sport is because I always wanted to help people become better in the para sports world. One part of our job is to educate para athletes. We provide them with manuals about their equipment and how they can understand it better, so they don’t make mistakes that can lead to an issue with their equipment,” Popow says.
