Ottobock Repair Service Centre wraps up successful week in Bydgoszcz

World Para Athletics and Ottobock, the leading global supplier in prosthetics and orthotics, partnered again during the seventh edition of the European Para Athletics Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland, from 1 to 5 June.

Ottobock provided technical support to the athletes at a Repair Service Centre as an official partner of the European Para Athletics Championships.

“It is one of the most important areas for the athletes. As an athlete in a major competition, you are worried about food, sleep, and your technical devices. It doesn’t matter if it’s your wheelchair or prosthetic leg, you have to be ready for the competition,” said Ottobock’s ambassador and an eight-time Paralympic medallist Heinrich Popow.

Technicians in the Repair Service Centre offered help to all the athletes with free maintenance and repair services, no matter if they used Ottobock’s equipment or not.

The Centre was fully equipped by Ottobock Planning & Equipping as it is in every other competition supported by Ottobock.

“Ottobock is there to serve and help the athletes. If they had any problems, they came to our repair centre and we helped them. The repair centre in Bydgoszcz was opened throughout the whole day. Athletes were focused on their competition and we were happy to be part of their results,” added Popow.

Successful Euros for Ottobock ambassadors

Bydgoszcz 2021 was initially scheduled to take place in June 2020 but had to be postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The safety protocols were in place for all the athletes, staff, and Ottobock technicians.

Coming to the Repair Service Centre, athletes had to comply with COVID-19 protocols. The whole event, as well as the Ottobock technical support, were delivered in the safest way possible following all the necessary guidelines.

Ottobock ambassadors were among 670 athletes from 44 nations in action in Bydgoszcz. The 17-year-old Dutch sprinter Olivier Hendriks won two gold medals in the men’s 100m and 400m T64.

Italian star Martina Caironi also had a successful European Championships topping the podium in the women’s 100m T63 and long jump T63. In Poland, she broke twice the long jump world record which now stands at the 5.06m-mark.

Desiree Vila (Spain), Sara Barrio (Spain), Sofia Gonzalez (Switzerland), and Alicja Jeromin (Poland) were also among the Ottobock ambassadors competing at the European Championships in Bydgoszcz.

Two thousand expected repairs in Tokyo

Ottobock’s longstanding partnership with the Paralympic Movement started almost 33 years ago at the Paralympic Games in Seoul in 1988. Ever since that moment, the med-tech company has provided technical service at national and international sports events such as the Commonwealth Games, Parapan American Games, World and European Championships.

Ottobock will once again serve as the Official Technical Service Partner at the Tokyo Paralympics taking place from 24 August to 5 September 2021.

Maintenance and repair services will be offered free of charge with a 100-member technical team speaking 26 languages with 2,000 expected repairs during the Games.