Since May 2019, the so-called top team funding for Paralympics athletes has been adjusted. Instead of 100 to 200 euros previously, the disabled top athletes now receive just as much money as their Olympic colleagues – at least 800 euros a month. The sum that is passed on to the athletes by the Deutsche Sporthilfe Foundation consists of state funding from the Ministry of the Interior, sponsorship and donations. The fact that this amount has been adjusted for the team athletes is a great success for disabled sports, reports Niels Verhoef, advisor for athletes support in the German Disabled Sports Association (DBS). A total of 96 people now benefit from these additional amounts.
Para-athlete spokeswoman Mareike Miller, member of the German national team in wheelchair basketball, is one of these sponsored athletes. “Basically, the increased support is a first step, as you can now pay for investments in home training elements, training trips and training camps without having to spend every penny,” says Miller. Because athletes have to pay out of their own pockets for many materials and costs arising from everyday sports. Miller would get a wheelchair from the sponsors of the national team from time to time, but some of the costs for worn out spare parts would have to be paid by himself. For Miller personally, the increase in the basic funding means that she can now train better because she continues to work in addition to the sport and not only draws money from the top team funding. But for others it is a basic financial security if they concentrate completely on the sport.
However, only very few choose this professional path in disabled sports. Miller makes it clear: “In the Paralympic disciplines it is more difficult to be a professional athlete.” This takes time, especially in preparation for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. And that in turn is only possible with regular income. From sponsorship, for example, which only very few stars can count on.
It is still difficult to make a living from the € 800 top team funding alone. The elite sponsorships in preparation for the Tokyo Games could help. In addition to the basic funding, 150 Olympic athletes are financed in this way with 1000 euros. Athletes from Paralympic disciplines are not among them. An athlete like the shot putter Niko Kappel, who won the gold medal at the Paralympic Summer Games in Rio in 2016 and recently set a world record, would easily meet the criteria. The DBS had started talks with Deutsche Sporthilfe, Verhoef told »nd«, but these have been suspended since the beginning of the corona pandemic because sponsorship would be very unattractive at the moment anyway. And a private donor is apparently necessary for this extra pot.
If you don’t have the money to focus exclusively on sport, a career with various federal agencies becomes particularly attractive. After all, since 2013 individual funding from the Bundeswehr, Federal Police and Customs has also provided for disabled athletes. Those who receive one get a steady income and can focus on their performance sparring career until it ends.
Whoever wins medals increases the chance of becoming part of these programs. But the number of available places is very manageable. At the moment, 29 athletes of the total of 1059 people supported by the federal authorities have a disability. That’s just three percent. “Qualitatively, the Paralympic athletes * are now equal, quantitatively not yet,” says Niels Verhoef from DBS.
Many athletes are interested in expanding their positions at federal authorities, reports athletes spokeswoman Miller. This development is also becoming apparent. Every year, more positions are available for para-athletes, says Verhoef. However, due to their disabilities, not all athletes can move up in the rank of the individual army and police authorities. Promotions would also be eliminated for them per se. In addition, due to various physical limitations, not all of them can be used for service in the armed forces, for example.
The path to equality has been paved further over the past few years by aligning management support and integrating it into the federal authorities. But there is a lack of funding agencies or sponsors for a fair distribution of sports aids. So the para-athletes still do not have the same chances.
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