The 2016 Paralympics

Founded in 1950 and now with 300 members, the disabled sports section of TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen is one of the most successful clubs in Germany for disabled athletes. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, a large number of Bayer club members once again competed against the world's best disabled athletes

The Successes of Our Athletes at the Paralympics 2016

With somewhat of a delay, the German 4x100-meter relay team with Markus Rehm, David Behre, Felix Streng and Johannes Floors - all runners from TSV Bayer Leverkusen - were able to celebrate Gold medals. Initially, their time of 40.82 seconds was only enough for Silver. But because of a mistake during one of the changeovers, the US relay team was disqualified. Consequently, the Bayer sprinters celebrated the Gold and also a Paralympic record.

Irmgard Bensusan was elated with her first Paralympic medal. In the 400 meters, the South Africa-born athlete crossed the finish line in second place with a time of 59.62 seconds. She thus improved her own personal best by more than a second.

Bronze for David Behre at the Paralympics in Rio on September 12 in the Estadio Olimpico Joao Havelange in Rio de Janeiro. He had previously won Gold in the 4x100-meter relay.

Bayer disabled athlete Franziska Liebhardt was determined to win a medal at her first and last Paralympic Games. And the 34-year-old fulfilled her dream not once, but twice. She first won the shot put with a world record distance of 13.96 meters. Then, one day later, she picked up where she had left off, winning the Silver medal in the long jump with a distance of 4.42 meters.

17 TSV Athletes on the German Team for Rio

In all, 148 German athletes (83 men and 65 women ) competed at the XV Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen was represented by 17 athletes competing in three sports, once again making up the German team’s largest contingent of participants.

Our top athletes with handicap are ready for Rio!

Previous Successes at the Paralympics

Bayer AG has been sponsoring disabled sports since 1950, and top athletes from TSV have been taking part at the Paralympics since 1984. A success story: TSV athletes have won a total of 82 medals at the Paralympics, 57 of them in track and field alone. Our athletes not only benefit from optimal training facilities, they also have an opportunity to enjoy a dual career in the sports class at Bayer AG or the Elite Sports School.

Leverkusen is the only Paralympic training center in Germany for three different sports: Track and field, sitting volleyball and swimming

Links

Rio2016™ Paralympic Games

Disabled Sports

Video Portraits