With a new wheelchair

Para-athlete sweats for the Olympics on the Salzburgring

Ludwig Malter has been training at the Salzburgring since this year.(Bild: Ludwig Malter)

Racing wheelchair racer Ludwig Malter wants to push himself to new best performances with two innovations. The 23-year-old has been training on the Salzburgring race track since this year. With the ideal training there, the Gollinger wants to secure a ticket for the Paralympics in Paris.

In a wheelchair on a race track? What may seem a little unusual at first glance has been the norm for racing wheelchair racer Ludwig Malter since this year. As far as events allow, the Golling native trains on the asphalt of the Salzburgring. "The track there is great. There's no traffic and the track layout with its gradients and bends is perfect," says Malter, delighted with his new training location. In addition to the track in Rif, the Gollinger wants to push himself to new best performances on the legendary race track.

The first test in April at the marathon in London will show whether it really helps. There, the 23-year-old can also take a step towards the Paralympics in Paris in the summer. If he can achieve a certain time over a certain distance there, Malter will reach the so-called High Performance Standard. He will then be in a good starting position to secure one of the few coveted quota places.

Wheelchair for a mid five-figure sum
The army athlete and former philosophy student also has a brand new piece of equipment. "That will be exciting, because it's completely new equipment," says the man from Tennengau. He received a wheelchair made entirely of carbon from a Swiss company. "I'm one of the first people to have this chair." The differences are clearly noticeable: "You can really feel it. It's lighter and faster." Cost point: 40,000 euros! "Fortunately, I have private sponsors who are very supportive."