Catherine Debrunner facts for kids
Training von Catherine Debrunner in Nottwil
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| Born | 11 April 1995 Mettendorf TG |
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| Education | Thurgau University of Education | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Disability class | T53 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Red Velvet Racing Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Arno Mul | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Catherine Debrunner, born on April 11, 1995, is an amazing athlete and teacher from Switzerland. She uses a wheelchair due to a birth defect in her spine. Catherine is known for her incredible speed and endurance in wheelchair racing. She has won many medals for Switzerland, including several gold medals at the Paralympic Games and World Championships. She also holds course records in major marathons like Berlin, Chicago, and New York City.
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Catherine's Early Life and Training
Catherine Debrunner was born in Mettendorf, Switzerland. Because of a birth defect in her spine, she uses a wheelchair. When she was younger, she went to a sports camp in Nottwil. There, she met Paul Odermatt, who would become her first coach. Since 2021, her coach has been Arno Mul from the Netherlands.
Catherine's Amazing Career
Catherine started her racing career strong. In 2015, she won a silver medal in the 200 metres race at the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships. Her time was 30.64 seconds.
Competing at the Paralympics
Catherine qualified for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio. She finished seventh in the 400 metres race. After that, she took a break from sports to focus on her studies. She wanted to become a teacher.
Returning to the Track
Catherine came back to racing for the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai. She showed everyone how talented she was! She won a gold medal in the 400 metres T53 race. She also earned a silver medal in the 800 metres T53 race.
In 2023, Catherine had an incredible performance at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships in Paris. She won four gold medals in different races: the 400m, 800m, 1500m, and 5000m. She also added a silver medal in the 100m race, finishing just behind Sammi Kinghorn.
Marathon Success
Catherine decided to try marathons, which are very long races. In 2022, she competed in her first marathon, the Berlin Marathon. She won it! Her time was 1 hour, 36 minutes, and 47 seconds. This win ended Manuela Schär's streak of five wins at the Berlin Marathon.
In May 2023, Catherine received a very special award. She was named the Laureus World Sports Award for Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability. This award recognizes top athletes with disabilities.
Later in 2023, Catherine set a new world record at the 2023 Berlin Marathon. Her time was an amazing 1 hour, 34 minutes, and 16 seconds! She then raced in the United States for the first time. She competed in the 2023 Chicago Marathon in October. She set a new course record there too, with a time of 1 hour, 38 minutes, and 44 seconds.
Catherine continued her winning streak. She also won the 2023 New York City Marathon, setting another course record with a time of 1 hour, 39 minutes, and 32 seconds. In 2024, she won the 2024 London Marathon.
Paris 2024 Paralympic Games
At the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, Catherine had an outstanding performance. She won five gold medals and one silver medal. One of her gold medals was for the T54 Marathon. She led the marathon from the very beginning. Madison de Rozario from Australia came in second, and Susannah Scaroni from America won the bronze medal.
