Bernd Jeffré (born 17 March 1964) is a German paracyclist who won the handcycle race at the

2008 Berlin Marathon The 2008 Berlin Marathon was the 35th edition of the Berlin Marathon. The marathon took place in Berlin, Germany, on 28 September 2008 and was the fourth World Marathon Majors race of the year. The men's race was won by Haile Gebrselassie in 2:03: ...

. He also won a bronze medal in the road time trial H3 event at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

, and has won three team relay bronze medals at the

UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships are the world championships for road cycling where athletes with a physical disability compete, organized by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The Championships were earlier administered by the ...

. He competed at the delayed

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

Personal life

Jeffré was born in

Kiel Kiel ( ; ) is the capital and most populous city in the northern Germany, German state of Schleswig-Holstein. With a population of around 250,000, it is Germany's largest city on the Baltic Sea. It is located on the Kieler Förde inlet of the Ba ...

, Germany. He has

paraplegia Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek () "half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neura ...

, after a crane accident at the age of 37. Jeffré is married.

Career

Jeffré started playing

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

, and started competing with a

handbike A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having t ...

in 2004. He trains at the . He won the handcycle race at the

, in a course record time of 1:05:44. He was the first person to finish the Berlin Marathon race in under 1:10.00. He came second in the handcycle race at the

2010 Berlin Marathon The 37th Berlin Marathon took place on Sunday 26 September 2010 on the streets of Berlin, Germany. The competition was sponsored by German retailer ''real,-'' and it was the third World Marathon Major of the year, as well as being an IAAF Gold Labe ...

behind Vico Merklein. Jeffré and Merklein had led the race throughout. Jeffré may have lost the race due to wearing too few clothes and becoming cold during the race. His wife had suggested wearing more clothes, but Jeffré chose to ignore her. He came eighth in the time trial event at the 2010

, and fifth in the road race. At the 2011 Championships, he came eighth in the road race. At the

, Jeffré came third in the road time trial H3 event, and sixth in the road race H3. He was the first Paralympic medallist from

Lower Saxony Lower Saxony is a States of Germany, German state (') in Northern Germany, northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ' of the Germany, Federal Re ...

. In 2013, he was a contender for German disabled athlete of the year. At the 2014 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships, Jeffré came sixth in the time trial. At the 2015 Championships, he came eighth at the same event. At the

2017 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2017 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships was the seventh edition of the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place on the roads of Pietermaritzburg in South Africa from 31 ...

, he was part of the German team that came third in the team relay event, alongside Mariusz Frankowski and

Andrea Eskau Andrea Eskau (born 21 March 1971) is a German handbiker, Paralympic biathlon, and cross country skier who was born in Apolda and was a winner of three gold medals in Summer Paralympic Games. Career In 2014, she became a recipient of another ...

. He also came fourth in the individual time trial at the Championships. In the same year, he came second in a European Handbike Circuit competition, and second in a handbike marathon event in

Rosenau Rosenau may refer to various places in Europe: *in Austria: **Rosenau am Hengstpaß, Upper Austria **a hamlet near Seewalchen am Attersee, Upper Austria **the boroughs ''Rosenau Markt'' and ''Rosenau Schloss'' in Zwettl, Lower Austria **Schloss Ros ...

, France. In 2018, he came fifth in the World Championships time trial, sixth in the road race and seventh in the team relay. He won the Road World Cup H4 overall standings for the season. At the 2019 Championships, he came third in the team relay, eighth in the time trial and ninth in the road race. At the

2021 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships The 2021 UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships was tenth edition of the World Championships for road cycling for athletes with a physical disability. The Championships took place in Cascais in Portugal from 9 to 13 June 2021. Medalists Meda ...

, Jeffré came third in the team relay event, alongside

Annika Zeyen } Annika Zeyen-Giles (née Annika Zeyen born 17 February 1985) is a former 1.5-point wheelchair basketball player, who has played for ASV Bonn, RSV Lahn-Dill and BG Baskets Hamburg in the German wheelchair basketball league, and for the Univers ...

and Vico Merklein. He came 13th in the individual road race. In July 2021, Jeffré was selected for the German team for the delayed

. He finished eighth in the time trial H4 event, and did not finish the road race H4 due to a technical problem with his handcycle. He was part of the German team, alongside Zeyen and Merklein, that came fourth in the mixed team relay.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jeffre, Bernd 1964 births Living people German male cyclists Paralympic cyclists for Germany Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople from Kiel Cyclists from Schleswig-Holstein