Setting new world records on a cold, windy Saturday in Duderstadt, Germany, were six of the world's top disabled athletes. The records set the first day of the ParalympicChallenge May 20, a high-profile competition held under the auspices of the International Paralympics Committee (IPC). Hosted by Otto Bock, headquartered in Duderstadt, the event included 120 participants from 32 countries as a prelude to the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. Only athletes who held world records, had won Paralympic medals, or who were among the top-ranking athletes in the world, were invited, noted Otto Bock. Vitalis Lanshima, a bilateral upper-limb amputee from Nigeria, ran the 100m in 11.17 seconds; transfemoral amputee Annette Roozen beat her short distance best mark from 17.20 to 16.90 seconds; Ming Jie Giao, a transtibial amputee from China, bested his own javelin world record for transtibial amputees by 1.18m to 56.75m; and amputee Bao Zhu Zheng of China achieved a shot put distance of 9.65m. April Holmes, a transtibial amputee from the United States, set a new world record in the 400m race of 1:05.64. Yue Yang achieved China's third world record at the event by accomplishing 39.5 meters in discus throwing for transtibial amputees. "We wanted to offer a highlight between the Paralympics at which the world's best athletes could test their status and at which the audience could get a feel for the fantastic atmosphere of the Paralympics," said Prof. Hans Georg Näder, CEO and chairman of Otto Bock. A storm with a wind force of over 62 miles per hour didn't roll in until the last medal presentation of the day's award ceremony, at which point it blew the top cover off the competition and media office. However, the weather didn't dampen enthusiasm for the event. "It is unbelievable what these athletes can do!" exclaimed former Olympic champion Rosi Mittermaier, patron of the benefit golf tournament of the German Foundation for the Promotion of Sports, who visited the ParalympicChallenge.
Setting new world records on a cold, windy Saturday in Duderstadt, Germany, were six of the world's top disabled athletes. The records set the first day of the ParalympicChallenge May 20, a high-profile competition held under the auspices of the International Paralympics Committee (IPC). Hosted by Otto Bock, headquartered in Duderstadt, the event included 120 participants from 32 countries as a prelude to the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. Only athletes who held world records, had won Paralympic medals, or who were among the top-ranking athletes in the world, were invited, noted Otto Bock. Vitalis Lanshima, a bilateral upper-limb amputee from Nigeria, ran the 100m in 11.17 seconds; transfemoral amputee Annette Roozen beat her short distance best mark from 17.20 to 16.90 seconds; Ming Jie Giao, a transtibial amputee from China, bested his own javelin world record for transtibial amputees by 1.18m to 56.75m; and amputee Bao Zhu Zheng of China achieved a shot put distance of 9.65m. April Holmes, a transtibial amputee from the United States, set a new world record in the 400m race of 1:05.64. Yue Yang achieved China's third world record at the event by accomplishing 39.5 meters in discus throwing for transtibial amputees. "We wanted to offer a highlight between the Paralympics at which the world's best athletes could test their status and at which the audience could get a feel for the fantastic atmosphere of the Paralympics," said Prof. Hans Georg Näder, CEO and chairman of Otto Bock. A storm with a wind force of over 62 miles per hour didn't roll in until the last medal presentation of the day's award ceremony, at which point it blew the top cover off the competition and media office. However, the weather didn't dampen enthusiasm for the event. "It is unbelievable what these athletes can do!" exclaimed former Olympic champion Rosi Mittermaier, patron of the benefit golf tournament of the German Foundation for the Promotion of Sports, who visited the ParalympicChallenge.