Most Paralympic athletes can't make a living off their sports. But there is a large support system. German prosthetics maker Otto Bock is one of the sponsors keeping medal dreams alive for disabled athletes.
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00:00Paris, the day before the opening of the Paralympics.
00:05It's yet another mega-event featuring athletes with disabilities, and it's grown to be the
00:10third biggest sports event in the world.
00:14This is encouraging people worldwide to overcome a disability, to fight, to live their dreams,
00:21to be active in sports.
00:23It's a huge motivation.
00:26It's a great opportunity for people with disabilities to participate in sports.
00:30It's amazing for our people, for many guys, for our guests to come here, this is wonderful.
00:37The German wheelchair basketball team is among the athletes competing.
00:42They're looking forward to having an audience.
00:44Paris estimates to see another 10 million tourists watch para-athletes compete.
00:50The German athletics team.
00:52They've been training until hours before their departure.
00:55They're competing in 22 disciplines, but few can make a living of their sports.
01:01This is a blessing I can.
01:02I have sponsors, so I'm covered when it comes to my finances.
01:07It's not the same for everybody, of course.
01:10I think without a sponsor, without sponsors, it's difficult.
01:14You're an ambassador for...
01:16Yeah, ambassador for Ottobock and for Nike.
01:21Most athletes have to balance their training with a regular career, with family or college.
01:26Yeah, it's difficult to deal with these two things in my daily lifetime, but I have to
01:34be honest, I focus a little bit more on sports than on university, but I try to have a good
01:41balance between them both.
01:44The Paris Paralympics will be celebrated over 12 days.
01:47The host city is going all in, preparing a production on par with the recent Olympics,
01:53including a colourful opening ceremony.
01:55It's financed by 1.2 billion euros in sponsorships and 4 billion euros in ticket sales, media
02:01rights and marketing.
02:03Among the sponsors, global insurance giant Allianz.
02:08Our portfolio very much matches with sport, yeah, and we believe of the impact of sport
02:14for health, for society, for social development, no matter if we are speaking about athletes
02:21or athletes with a disability.
02:24German prosthetics maker Ottobock runs a repair shop in Paris' Paralympic village.
02:30The company is the global market leader in its field and has 8,000 employees.
02:36They are offering free service during the Paralympics and they are a sponsor of the
02:40event.
02:41We have a huge network of brand ambassadors, over 75 athletes the world over.
02:48We support them with materials, with wheelchairs, with prosthetics, but also with our know-how.
02:55We know how to make these parts and fine-tune them.
02:59Among Ottobock's athletes, runner Johannes Flohr, a candidate for a medal at the Games.
03:04His goal?
03:05To show the world that everyone can be an elite athlete.