Paralympics 2024

Dream of a medal lives on despite extra kilos

Markus "Mendy" Swoboda wants to surprise at the Paralympics in Paris.(Bild: GEPA)

Canoeist Markus "Mendy" Swoboda will be competing in Paris for the third time at the Paralympic Games. Despite his weakness for sweets, the 34-year-old Upper Austrian wants to reach at least the final in both of his disciplines. Before getting married next year and realizing his big dream of the Atlantic.

"The grandstands are unbelievably big, you usually only see something like this at rock concerts or soccer matches," enthuses Markus "Mendy" Swoboda. He starts his third Paralympic Games on Friday with the two preliminary heats in the Vaires-sur-Marne water sports stadium and is aiming for the final of the top eight in both the kayak and va`a. "Anything else would be a bonus. I feel good, my form is right - I may no longer be one of the top favorites, but I see myself in the extended circle of medal candidates."

Eight years ago in Rio, Swoboda celebrated silver.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

Things were very different a few years ago, when he was the top favorite to win silver at his para-premiere in Rio. He also has six world championship and six European championship titles on his CV. "The performance tests show that I'm in good physical shape," says the 34-year-old, before admitting with a grin: "The only thing I'm too heavy on is my weight, unfortunately I can't deny that." In Rio he was 65 kilos, now it's 74. "Sugar is a big vice of mine - chocolate, cakes, energy drinks, I get weak with all that."

Negotiating skills
He is accompanied in Paris by his mother, siblings and Lisa, his fiancée. "We're getting married next September," says Swoboda, who has been in the city of love since Tuesday, proudly. The two have been a couple for twelve years and met at a birthday party. "She has to go through a lot with me," smiles Swoboda. He has been cherishing a big dream for years: he wants to paddle across the Atlantic, from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean, which would take him around two months. "That really excites me. I'm still lacking sponsors, so I'm sure I'll need a lot of negotiating skills - including with my family."

Swoboda has been in the Paralympic Village since Tuesday afternoon.(Bild: GEPA pictures)

It was his father who once saved Swoboda's life. On October 18, 1997, the then seven-year-old Mendy fell into the wood chip heater in front of his parents' farmhouse in Altenberg and lost both legs. Swoboda only survived because his father reacted so quickly. "It could have ended much more tragically," "Mendy" is aware. Sport helped him back into everyday life - he took up paddling by chance at the age of ten and is now competing in the Paralympics for the third time in Paris.

Paralympics 2028 not ruled out either
Will the Games be his last? Probably not. "The army has extended my stay, I can continue to practice my sport as a profession - I'm very grateful for that." Los Angeles 2028 would "absolutely appeal" to Swoboda: "But of course it has to make sense in terms of performance."