Para-Athletes Using Össur Technology Dominate in Tokyo

A global team of para-athletes who wear Össur’s renowned prosthetics won 28 medals and set new World and Paralympic Records during the recent 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games.  Competitors using the iconic carbon fiber Össur Cheetah sports blades, easily identified by their yellow stripe, dominated several categories of competition, particularly Athletics.

Athletes wearing Össur technologies competed in numerous events including Long Jump, Sprinting, Discus Throw, Triathlon and Cycling and the Össur Cheetah blades had an especially remarkable showing in Athletics. The majority of competitors in the women’s and men’s T62/T64 Long Jump, and 100m, 200m and 400m sprints, were wearing the company’s iconic carbon fiber Cheetah sports blades.

Össur athletes set four new World Records and three new Paralympic records, including a complete sweep of the Women’s T62-64 Long Jump, led by gold medalist Fleur Jong of The Netherlands, who also set a new World Record in the event. Marie-Amélie Le Fleur from France won the silver medal and Marlene van Gansewinkel, also from The Netherlands, won the bronze medal. Marlene also set two new Paralympic Records while winning gold in both the T64 100m and 200m events. 

Össur athletes also swept the Men’s T61 200m, led by gold medalist Ntando Mahlangu of South Africa, followed by the UK’s Richard Whitehead. Ntando also set a new World Record and took gold in T61/T63 Long Jump. Germany’s Markus Rehm continued his winning streak in T64 Long Jump, winning his fourth consecutive gold medal and leading a total sweep by Össur athletes in that category.

In Cycling, Jody Cundy marked his seventh consecutive Paralympic Games by setting a new World Record and taking gold as a member of Great Britain’s Team Sprint Cycling, as well as a silver in the individual 1km Time Trial. In Wheelchair Fencing, Italy’s Bebe Vio successfully defending her gold medal in the Foil B individual event and earned an additional silver medal as a member of Italy’s Foil B Team.

“We congratulate all of the athletes who competed at the Tokyo Paralympic Games, and we are beaming with pride for our amazing team of Össur athletes. This was an extraordinary time for sport, and the athletes who participated not only overcame the postponement of the Games, but also the considerable challenges of competing during a global pandemic. Their determination and resilience rose to new heights this year and we saw incredible performances.  Össur’s technologies, including our world-renowned Cheetah blades, remain the prostheses of choice for world-class athletes,” said Jon Sigurdsson, Össur’s President and CEO.  If Össur athletes were counted as a country, Sigurdsson added, Össur’s gold medal wins would have ranked it as 13th overall among all 162 participating nations.