A global team of para-athletes who wear Össur’s prosthetics won 28 medals and set new World and Paralympic Records during the recent 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games, the company announces.
Competitors using the company’s carbon fiber Cheetah sports blades, easily identified by their yellow stripe, dominated several categories of competition, particularly Athletics.
While athletes wearing Össur technologies competed in numerous events including Long Jump, Sprinting, Discus Throw, Triathlon and Cycling, the Össur Cheetah blades had an especially remarkable showing in Athletics. The majority of competitors in the women’s and men’s T62/T64 Long Jump, and 100m, 200m and 400m sprints were wearing the company’s iconic carbon fiber Cheetah sports blades.
Set New Records
Össur athletes set four new World Records and three new Paralympic records, including a complete sweep of the Women’s T62-64 Long Jump, led by gold medalist Fleur Jong of The Netherlands, who also set a new World Record in the event. Marie-Amélie Le Fleur from France won the silver medal and Marlene van Gansewinkel, also from The Netherlands, won the bronze medal. Marlene also set two new Paralympic Records while winning gold in both the T64 100m and 200m events.
Össur athletes also swept the Men’s T61 200m, led by gold medalist Ntando Mahlangu of South Africa, followed by the UK’s Richard Whitehead. Ntando also set a new World Record and took gold in T61/T63 Long Jump. Germany’s Markus Rehm continued his winning streak in T64 Long Jump, winning his fourth consecutive gold medal and leading a total sweep by Össur athletes in that category.
In Cycling, Jody Cundy marked his seventh consecutive Paralympic Games by setting a new World Record and taking gold as a member of Great Britain’s Team Sprint Cycling, as well as a silver in the individual 1km Time Trial. In Wheelchair Fencing, Italy’s Bebe Vio successfully defended her gold medal in the Foil B individual event and earned an additional silver medal as a member of Italy’s Foil B Team.
Team USA Winners
Among North American athletes, winning Team USA members included para-triathlete Grace Norman,who won a silver medal in the PTS-5 Paratriathlon, Trenten Merrill, who won a bronze medal in the T64 Long Jump, and Hunter Woodhall, who won a bronze medal in the T62 400m event. Canada’s Marissa Papaconstantinou also won a bronze medal in the women’s T64 100m sprint.
“We congratulate all of the athletes who competed at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and we are beaming with pride for our amazing team of Össur athletes. This was an extraordinary time for sport, and the athletes who participated not only overcame the postponement of the Games, but also the considerable challenges of competing during a global pandemic. Their determination and resilience rose to new heights this year and we saw incredible performances. Össur’s technologies, including our world-renowned Cheetah blades, remain the prostheses of choice for world-class athletes.”
— Jon Sigurdsson, Össur’s President and CEO
If Össur athletes were counted as a country, Sigurdsson adds, Össur’s gold medal wins would have ranked it as 13th overall among all 162 participating nations.
[Source: Össur]
Related Content:
Össur Launches Three New Cheetah Models in Running Prosthesis Line
WIPO Recognizes Össur’s Role in Leading Assistive Technology Development
Össur Updates Empower Software to Comply with New Competitive Bidding Requirements
