Bitter Paralympics end for Clara Klug and Martin Härtl

Created: 02/28/2022Updated: 02/28/2022 15:44

By: Paul Hopp

It just shouldn't be: Clara Klug and Martin Härtl have to cancel the start at the 2022 Paralympics.

Four years ago in South Korea (see photo) the two won two bronze medals in biathlon.

© Imago Images/Vladimir Smirnov

The decision wasn't easy: Clara Klug and Martin Härtl had to withdraw from the Paralympics.

Even a daring plan can no longer change that.

Weilheim/Beijing – Clara Klug had tried everything to get fit in time.

The German team doctor, Anja Hirschmüller, explained to her how she could contest at least one or two races in Beijing despite her injured shoulder - a fixation with two screws should help.

But in the end Klug decided against it.

"It makes no sense.

I don't want to force it," says the native of Munich.

The 2022 Paralympics will therefore take place without the biathlete and her guide and trainer, Martin Härtl from Weilheim.

It was by no means an easy decision for the 27-year-old.

After all, she and Härtl (47) had been working towards this major event for the past few years.

In Beijing, the Nordic skiing duo from Bavaria wanted to defy the almost overwhelming Russian women in the competitions for visually impaired women and win a gold medal.

Shoulder injury slows down Clara Klug

National coach Ralf Rombach calls Klug's end at the Paralympics "regrettable".

Last but not least, the team lacks a figurehead.

Klug's trainer Härtl focuses above all on the sporting aspect: "My heart just hurts because the routes in Beijing are 100 percent Clara routes: motorways with long curves - Clara can do that," says Weilheimer.

Klug and Härtl have been working together since 2014.

At that time he discovered the talented Munich native in his function as state coach.

Both of them really stepped into the international limelight for the first time in 2017 at the World Championships in Finsterau (Bavarian Forest) - with two silver and one bronze in biathlon.

Unlike the Olympic sport, biathlon is part of the Nordic skiing area.

In 2019 in Canada, Klug/Härtl won gold at the World Championships three times

In Pyeongchang 2018, Klug and Härtl twice won biathlon bronze and caused a big surprise.

At the closing ceremony, the duo was allowed to carry the German flag.

In 2019, the two Bavarians really came up trumps at the World Championships in Prince George, Canada: they won the gold medal on all three biathlon routes (sprint, middle distance, individual).

In addition, there was one silver (middle distance) and one bronze (sprint) in cross-country skiing.

At the end of winter, the duo also won the overall biathlon World Cup.

Corona then caused a turning point - also and especially among athletes with disabilities.

The World Cup in March 2020 in Östersund was canceled at short notice.

In the winter that followed, only two World Cup events took place.

Paralympics 2022

The 2022 Paralympics in Beijing will take place from Friday, March 4th up to and including Sunday, March 13th.

Six different disciplines are held: alpine skiing, biathlon, cross-country skiing, para-ice hockey, snowboarding and wheelchair curling.

For alpine skiing, biathlon and cross-country skiing, there are categories for women and men: “standing”, “sitting” and “visually impaired”.

Athletes with visual impairments run with a guide who guides them through commands.

The German Paralympics team consists of eight women, nine men and five guides.

In the 2021/2022 season, Klug and Härtl were unlucky from the start.

In the very first World Cup race in Canmore (Canada), Klug fell on a downhill run and suffered a hairline fracture in his wrist.

She fought doggedly for her comeback, which she also managed to do at the end of January at the World Cup in Östersund.

In the cross-country sprint, Klug finished tenth.

The next day, the next blow to the neck: in a fall during training, she suffered a fracture in the shoulder joint, which now means the final Paralympics end.

shouldn't be," says the native of Munich.

In Beijing, only very young athletes are now starting for Germany in the Nordic skiing category for the visually impaired women: Linn Kazmaier (15), Johanna Recktenwald (20) and Leonie Walter (18).

"I'll keep my fingers crossed for everyone," says Klug.

She wants to switch off herself first – and then work in rehab to ensure that she comes back next winter.