Catherine Debrunner (born 11 April 1995) is a Swiss athlete and teacher. She has competed for Team Switzerland at the

2019 World Para Athletics Championships The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field event organised by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 7 to 15 November 2019 ...

where she won a gold and silver medal.

Early life

Debrunner was born on 11 April 1995 in

Mettendorf Mettendorf is a municipality in the district of Bitburg-Prüm, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in ...

, Switzerland. Due to a birth defect in her spine, she uses a wheelchair. While attending a sports camp in Nottwil, she met her future trainer and coach Paul Odermatt.

Career

Debrunner competed in the T53 200 metres at the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

, where she earned a silver medal with a time of 30.64. She qualified for the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in Rio, where she finished seventh in the Women's 400 metres. Debrunner subsequently took a break from sports to focus on her education before returning to Team Switzerland for the

. In Dubai, she earned a gold medal in the Women's 400m T53 and a silver medal in the women's 800m T53 race. At the 2022

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

, Debrunner, competing in her first marathon won the race with a time of 1:36:47, beating five-time winner Manuela Schär's streak of five Berlin Marathon wins. In May 2023, Debrunner was awarded the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability award.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Debrunner, Catherine Living people 1995 births Swiss female wheelchair racers Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic athletes for Switzerland People from Bitburg-Prüm World Para Athletics Championships winners Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics 21st-century Swiss women