His moment came in the second lap. Para-triathlete Martin Schulz passed George Peasgood, the British leader for a long time. After swimming 750 meters in the Tokyo harbor basin, Schulz got out of the water in the early morning local time exactly one minute behind, and after only five of 20 kilometers of cycling he had shortened the gap to 34 seconds. The last 2.1 kilometers on the running track turned into a triumph for Schulz, with a time of 58 minutes he crossed the finish line and dropped to the ground. The pressure that had built up over five years fell away from him at that moment.
“It was the race I wanted all along. I gave my best in all three disciplines, so I’m all the more happy that it was enough, ”said Schulz in an interview with ARD. In Tokyo it was the first gold medal for the German team. Friedhelm Julius Beucher was accordingly relieved. “Our first gold rocket has finally ignited,” said the 75-year-old President of the German Disabled Sports Association. “There is already a burden. Martin is a big winner. ”A little later, table tennis player Valentin Baus won the second gold on Sunday.
For the 31-year-old, who was born without a left forearm, it is the second gold medal at Paralympics after his victory in Rio in 2016. Schulz started in London in 2012, when he was still a swimmer. Since he switched to triathlon, he has enjoyed great sporting success. Swimming is his favorite discipline to this day. In Tokyo he got out of the water as second, together with Stefan Daniel from Canada. George Peasgood had already left. On the first lap on the bike, Schulz then left Daniel far behind. The hot chase began, with a high cadence he chased the Briton Peasgood afterwards.
Schulz trained up to 30 hours a week
“It’s important to stay in the race consistently, without any unnecessary sprints. With these extreme temperatures, it is all the more important to stick to your personal pace and not let yourself be carried away by the others, ”Schulz told Tagesspiegel.
The German national coach Tom Kosmehl had little doubt in advance about the victory of his protégé. Even before the start, he told this newspaper: “Martin is going to be world class.” Schulz trained up to 30 hours a week for the golden success. Both traveled to Yokohama in May and formed a bubble to reduce contacts to a minimum during the ongoing competition days. Coach Kosmehl was already hoping that the good headlines during the Paralympics would prevail. In any case, Martin Schulz will be one of them with his second Paralympic gold medal.
Full of joy and pride, the journey home is due in the coming days. What will he take away from this victorious competition? – “Always keep a cool head. In every sense.”
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