Case study: Paralympic champion aims for historic seventh Boston marathon win with advanced racing wheelchair
Switzerland’s Paralympic champion Marcel Hug is set to vie for his seventh gold at the 128th Boston Marathon on 15 April 2024, after his record-breaking sixth win last year in 1:17:06.
Marcel competes in category T54 wheelchair racing events. Beyond pursuing another historic victory, Marcel is dedicated to advancing global wheelchair racing through Swiss innovation, teamwork, and resilience.
In the lead-up to the race, the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York and Swissnex are co-hosting a panel on 12 April 2024, in Boston, featuring Marcel and engineers from Sauber and Orthotec, key contributors to Marcel Hug’s Marathon success. Together, they’ll explore the key elements to break world records.
Breaking speed records and pushing boundaries with Swiss innovation
With his signature helmet earning him the nickname “Silver Bullet,” Marcel is an advocate for embracing technological innovation to advance wheelchair racing as a professional sport and inspire young talent.
Together with an engineering team from Orthotec, a charitable subsidiary of the Swiss Paraplegic Foundation, and Formula 1-derived Sauber Technologies, Marcel embarked on a mission to build the world’s fastest wheelchair, OT FOXX, and make it available to all racers.
Marcel commented on the joint mission: “Success is not a static value, it is continuous work, on myself as an athlete and on the equipment. I like being at the forefront of innovation, and all athletes will benefit from our progress.”
“Wheelchair sports are top professional sports and deserve top equipment,” said Stefan Dürger, CEO of Orthotec.
Taking a cue from motor sports, the team is using Formula 1 aerodynamics with Swiss precision engineering and advanced materials, backed by creative ingenuity to help athletes break new boundaries.
“Pushing the limits means, as in Formula 1, not compromising on materials and technologies,” added Adrian Schwarz, Senior Project Manager at Sauber Technologies.
Promoting freedom of movement and inspiring young athletes
The interest in developing the world’s fastest wheelchair goes beyond breaking speed records. The overarching mission is to advance the freedom of movement for people with a spinal cord injury and similar impairments.
“It is about combining human performance, collaboration, technology, and design to achieve excellence and greater good,” praised Benjamin Bollmann, CEO of Swissnex in Boston and New York.
Just like in Formula 1, the cutting-edge technology crafted for peak athletic performance eventually finds its way to the wider public. Consequently, the OT-FOXX will elevate mobility not only for users of assistive technologies in Switzerland but also worldwide.
Likewise, the world-class facilities of the Swiss Paraplegic Centre, in Nottwil, Switzerland, also serves as a training home to Marcel and other top wheelchair racing athletes from across the globe. There, Marcel hosts Silver Bullet training camps for aspiring young wheelchair racers, nurturing the development of future athletes.
“There can be no greater testimony of Swiss excellence than when one of our top athletes and some of our best engineers team up to innovate at the highest level and for the benefit of society at large,” commented Joachim Tomaschett, Deputy Consul of the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York.
Leading up to the 2024 Boston Marathon, the Consulate General of Switzerland in New York and Swissnex are co-hosting panel titled ‘Go for Gold: Success is a Marathon’ with Marcel Hug, Sauber, and Orthotec on 12 April 2024, in Boston, to discuss what it takes to break world records.
For additional information and registration, click here.