Some years ago, I used to feel disappointed if my sporting achievements or those of other para-athletes did not receive enough recognition in the media. Whereas in the past, I usually tried to find the fault in myself, today I understand the mechanisms behind this phenomenon, at least in part. Clearly, we are a fringe sport that not so many people are interested in and which therefore gets less coverage in the media. Parasports are not suitable for the masses for various understandable reasons. One reason for the lack of interest, I believe, is that sport is strongly associated with aesthetics and a certain entertainment value. Whereas sport is synonymous with well-being, “naturalness”, health and performance, disability tends to be associated with “ill-being”, “unnaturalness” and poor performance. In addition, it reminds some people of their own vulnerability. There is a gulf between the concepts of disability and entertainment and to this day, parasports embody the opposite of aesthetics, performance and spectacle for many people.
That said, I sometimes notice a disparity in the way certain sports, athletes, events, successes and failures are given different levels of attention, evaluated differently or even ignored in some parts of the media. Reporting on parasports is doubtlessly a difficult task. The numerous, sometimes hard-to-understand categories that the athletes are assigned to based on their physical impairments are difficult to communicate and make it easy for audiences to lose sight of the bigger picture. And even for experienced journalists, the performances are often challenging to assess and classify. Finally, it is never possible to meet everyone’s differing needs; some people will always feel hard done by. Expressing only criticism would be the wrong thing to do. In recent years, sports reporting has changed a lot, with coverage of parasports on the rise. No doubt digitalisation is a major factor, but the relevance of parasports per se and the desire to report on them have also grown. Coverage of the Paralympics in particular has increased steadily in recent years, and in some cases they are even broadcast live with commentary. Performance levels have risen in many sports in recent years, and they have become more attractive as a result. Wheelchair athletics is particularly popular thanks to its highly dynamic, powerful and aesthetic qualities, and the action-packed, tactical elements provide for a great deal of suspense.
The language of reporting has also changed. In the past, the focus was more on the disability and how the athletes coped with their everyday lives. In some cases, the emphasis was shifted onto medical aspects in a highly dramatic fashion. The aim was to tell a “heroic” story – one that often triggered an unspoken response of “Oh, isn’t that delightful/sweet?” in audiences. Today, fortunately, the attention is more on sporting achievements.
One point that I have sometimes criticised a little in the past is the fact that in parasports, some issues and results do not receive as much scrutiny and are not viewed with as much differentiation as they are in other sports. It is therefore very positive, in my opinion, that after the development of our new and extremely successful high-tech racing wheelchair, questions were raised about the issue of fairness. Another example is the justified question of whether prosthetic leg blades do not offer their users a competitive advantage over non-disabled sprinters and long jumpers. Such disputes may not always be pleasant, but they are necessary. Critical but fair reporting shows that you are being taken seriously. I sometimes get the impression, however, that there is a certain reluctance to criticise people with disabilities or ask questions about their behaviour and decision-making. In-depth background knowledge and well-founded, multi-faceted reporting are often lacking, too. That said, I have noticed recently that an increasing number of journalists are putting a lot of effort into obtaining this background information and going into more depth. As para-athletes and members of sporting organisations, we too have a responsibility to make relevant and important information available to the media. By doing so, we can prevent false or incomplete information from being disseminated and help to increase the willingness to report on parasports. In future, we should strive to get more coverage not just in Paralympic years but also in the years in between. To achieve this, we all have to pull together. Our sport can and must become more attractive and understandable, for both viewers and the media. This will enable us to use the existing potential to present and market ourselves more effectively. Finally, greater awareness in the media and thus in the broader public can also have an effect on potential sponsors and partnerships.
Partnerships
I was lucky enough to be supported by both institutions and sponsors from an early stage of my sporting career. Some longstanding partnerships have evolved as a result. I am very grateful to my loyal main sponsors Allianz Suisse, Hugbau, Orthotec and Jaguar Land Rover Switzerland, as well as other sponsors and partners, for the crucial support they have given me during my sporting career. My thanks also go to our association Wheelchair Sport Switzerland, Swiss Paralympic and the Swiss Paraplegic Group.
I am sure that past and current sponsors have had different reasons for supporting me. Some may have been interested mainly in the social aspects, sponsoring me primarily as an act of goodwill, whereas others saw an opportunity in terms of marketing and image enhancement. In the early part of my career in particular, most of the support was probably provided for benevolent reasons. In those days, only a very small number of para-athletes had risen to fame and were able to attract sponsors through their popularity. This situation has now changed considerably, with successful para-athletes becoming strong ambassadors and advertising figureheads.
I have experienced an encouraging trend in this regard in relation to both me and others, especially in recent years – for example with campaigns that focus not on the disability but on the sport. This is particularly prevalent in campaigns or activities in which para-athletes and non-disabled athletes work alongside one another and campaign for a cause or product.
A further personal highlight in this context was the development of a new racing wheelchair with various Swiss partners. Orthotec AG secured the involvement of Sauber and Swiss Side, both of which already have well-established operations in sport, and developed what is currently one of the best racing wheelchairs in the world. I am delighted that I have since been able to celebrate many successes with this high-tech piece of equipment. What is equally important to me, however, is the professional nature of our collaboration. It has been a relatively unusual experience for me as a solo athlete to experience how a team of highly motivated and qualified experts worked together towards a shared goal.
In the meantime, I have been able to enter into other exciting partnerships and helped to drive forward some innovative developments. Such collaborations are very enriching for me and will hopefully benefit other para-athletes too in the future.
I can certainly count myself as one of the most privileged para-athletes in terms of media presence and support. I hope that in the future, more young para-athletes will be able to work their way into a similarly successful position.
More and more media organisations and companies are recognising their responsibility and actively doing their bit to sustainably promote diversity and inclusion in sport. Para-athletes deserve recognition and respect for their achievements, irrespective of their disability. The growing public presence and appreciation of para-athletes, be it in the media or through advertising partnerships, helps to shape how people with disabilities are perceived and accepted in general.