International Heidelberg wheelchair marathon

The International Heidelberg (Maxi) Wheelchair Marathon is a sporting event for people with and without a handicap . The focus of the sporting event is the wheelchair marathon, in this pure form one of only four races worldwide. It has been held every two years since 1989. At the same time, the Heidelberg wheelchair marathon is part of the “Handbike Trophy” series of competitions. The event is characterized by its inclusiveness , in the sense of a sporty togetherness of people with and without physical limitations from all over the world.

history

In 1989 the first wheelchair marathon took place with 150 participants. The founders were the athletes Heini Köberle and Hennes Lübbering (both multiple medal winners at the Paralympics) and the journalist Werner Schneider. Since then, the Heidelberg wheelchair marathon has developed into an international competition with an increasing number of participants. In July 2013, the sporting event was held for the twelfth time. Around 500 athletes from 22 countries took part. With a total of more than 220 recumbent riders starting, a new record worldwide was set in this racing discipline.

organization structure

The International Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon is organized by the Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon eV with CEO Joachim Schermuly. The patron of the event is traditionally the Lord Mayor of Heidelberg , currently Eckart Würzner . Numerous volunteers are responsible for the success of the event at every wheelchair marathon.

route

The route leads along the Neckar from Heidelberg to Neckargemünd and back again. The athletes complete the 22 km long circuit twice during the race. Since a total of 44 km are covered, the Heidelberg wheelchair marathon is a maxi marathon. After the actual marathon distance (42.195 kilometers), the first time measurement takes place in order to establish comparability with other marathon events.

statistics

Winners list

Source: website of the organizer

Winner men, racing bike

run	winner	nation	Time (hours)
marathon	Vico Merklein	GER	00:58:56
Maxi marathon	Arkadiusz Skrzypinski	POLE	01:02:47

Winner women, racing bike

run	winner	nation	Time (hours)
marathon	Silke Pan	GER	01:08:01
Maxi marathon	Silke Pan	GER	01:12:25

Records

In 2013, both Vico Merklein (00:58:56) and Silke Pan (01:08:01) set new world records in their classes. For the first time, Vico Merklein undercut the time of one hour and thus also the previous world best time of 01:00:03, which he himself had set in Heidelberg in 2009. Silke Pan was significantly faster than the previous best time of 01:14:11 that Sandra Graf had set in Rosenau in 2012.

Race sequence

Various racing classes and sports equipment are permitted in the International Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon. The athletes start with a time delay. The first group to go out on the track are racing and handbikers, as these devices allow the highest speeds. Then the racing wheelchair users start, then the participants in the junior half marathon and at the end the athletes who complete the half marathon with add-on bikes, tricycles or racing wheelchairs. The racing classes are based on the severity of the handicap of the athletes. Later in the day, there will be an inline skater race (22 kilometers) and a children's run (2.1 kilometers), the “Mobifantencup”.

In 2013 there was a celebrity race with regional personalities from politics, business and sport for the first time.

Sports equipment approved for the wheelchair marathon

Racing wheelchair

The history of the racing wheelchair began in the 1970s with everyday wheelchairs converted by athletes themselves. In 1980 the development of real racing wheelchairs started. Initially, the models had four tires, which, however, led to a lower speed due to poor directional stability. So from 1987 three-wheeled machines with only one impeller became popular. The forward movement takes place by powerfully hitting the hand rims with your hands.

Add-on bike

The add-on bike belongs to the group of hand bikes. It can be mounted on any standard wheelchair and usually consists of a wheel including a drive system. When the front wheel is clamped, the two small wheels of the wheelchair lose contact with the ground, creating a kind of tricycle. The add-on bike is operated with the arms using a hand crank and circuit. The option of upgrading with a motor exists for people with little muscle strength in these limbs. This piece of sports equipment is very widespread in popular sports.

Racing bike

Handbikes that are mainly used for cycling races or long-distance tours are called racing bikes. This handbike is also operated with the arms, but in contrast to the add-on bike, it is a separate piece of sports equipment that the athlete has to switch to. Racing bikes are divided into reclining, sitting or knee bikes depending on the athlete's seating position. Since the seat device is much closer to the ground compared to the add-on bikes, the racing bike achieves higher speeds and greater driving stability, especially in curves.

tricycle

Visually, the tricycle is similar to an ordinary bicycle to which an additional tire has been mounted. It cannot tip over and is easy to move, making it suitable for athletes with limited mobility, balance disorders or multiple sclerosis . With this piece of sports equipment, a distinction is made between front three-wheelers with double tires at the front and three-wheelers with two rear wheels.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ 42.195 km against the clock outrun.de
2. ↑ Heidelberg International Wheelchair Marathon handicapx.com
3. ↑ Some history rollstuhlmarathon.de
4. ↑ Data and facts of the 11th International Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon (PDF; 174 kB) drs.org
5. ↑ New world record at the 12th International Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon rollstuhlmarathon.de
6. ↑ Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon: Recharge your batteries through sport ( Memento of the original from July 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. rehatreff.de 
7. ↑ Twelfth wheelchair marathon in Heidelberg die-stadtredaktion.de
8. ↑ 10th International Wheelchair Marathon Heidelberg ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. handbikesport.de 
9. ↑ International wheelchair marathon between Heidelberg and Neckargemünd regio-kult.de
10. ↑ Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon: Results 2013
11. ↑ Further best times in Heidelberg rehatreff.de
12. ↑ Driver information Heidelberg wheelchair marathon 2013 (PDF; 80 kB) rollstuhlmarathon.de
13. ↑ 12th Heidelberg Wheelchair Marathon  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. handbikesport.de  
14. ↑ Historical development of a racing wheelchair ( Memento of the original from May 13, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. handbikesport.de 
15. ↑ The racing wheelchair sandrahager.ch
16. ↑ This is how adaptive bikes work at trainingsworld.com
17. ↑ Mobility - Bicycle - Handbike rehascout.info
18. ↑ Mobility - Bicycle - Handbike rehascout.info
19. ↑ Mobility - bicycles - tricycles and recumbent bicycles rehascout.info