Here we go again! The Paralympic Summer Games under the motto ‘Citius, altius, fortius’ (faster, higher, further) started in Tokyo on Tuesday. 14 female and male athletes from TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen are competing at the Paralympics.
One of them is the visually impaired Taliso Engel. The 19-year-old is a big medal hope for Germany in swimming. “My big target at the Paralympics is to end up in the top three in the 100 metre breaststroke. That would be my main aim and it would be a dream come true, ” explained Engel ahead of the games.
The European and World champion from Nuremberg with be the first TSV athlete to compete at the games. On Friday, 27 August, at 09.00 CEST he will take part in the qualifiers for the men’s 400 metre freestyle. The final is at 17.00 CEST on the same day.
We wish all the German Paralympians, above all the athletes from TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen, great success at the summer games in Tokyo.
The TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen athletes at the Paralympics:
Taliso Engel (swimming), Nele Moos (100m/400m), Léon Schäfer (long jump/100m), Johannes Floors (100m/400m), Markus Rehm (long jump), Irmgard Bensusan (100m/200m), Maria Tietze (100m/200m), David Behre (relay), Lise Petersen (javelin), Dominik Albrecht (sitting volleyball), Stefan Hähnlein (sitting volleyball), Lukas Schiwiy (sitting volleyball), Jürgen Schrapp (sitting volleyball), Mathis Tigler (sitting volleyball)
Paralympics on TV:
Over 60 hours of the games will broadcast live from Tokyo on German TV channels. There are also live stream of the competitions (sportschau.de and zdfsport.de). The main broadcast times are 9.05 to 13.00 CEST, and 14.00 to 15.00 CEST.
Bayer 04 turned in a dominant performance in a 7-0 win against fifth-tier side Sportfreunde Baumberg in their first friendly ahead of the 2026/27 season. A brace from debutant Afonso Moreira (19', 27') either side of a Christian Kofane strike (23') put the Werkself 3-0 up in the first of the two 35-minute halves in Monheim am Rhein. After the break, Victor Boniface (49', 53'), Robert Andrich (56') and Nathan Tella (67') scored for the completely changed Leverkusen team. It was therefore a successful friendly debut for new head coach Carles Martínez and his team, although the hosts also had something to celebrate despite the defeat: the match marked the inauguration of Baumberg's new ground, the MEGA Stadion.
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Attention, Werkself fans: the new Away Matchday Collection is now available from the Bayer 04 online shop and the Fanwelt. It includes t-shirts, zip tops and jackets.
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Season tickets for the Werkself home matches in the new Google Pixel Women’s Bundesliga season are now on general sale. The season ticket is valid for all 13 matches at the Ulrich Haberland Stadium. The first home match will be played between 28 and 31 August against the runners-up, VfL Wolfsburg, followed by the clash with the German champions, Bayern Munich, between 11 and 14 September.
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A new team, a new environment, a new challenge—and yet one thing remains the same for Afonso Moreira: his attitude. Total dedication, discipline, and the drive to improve every day have defined the Portuguese player since his early days at Sporting CP. “Even back then, I realized I had to work hard to achieve my goals,” said the 21-year-old. His parents also instilled those values in him from a young age. Values that have driven him ever since, accompanied him to France when he signed for Lyon, and now also form the foundation for his new chapter at Bayer 04. At a media session, the lightning-fast winger spoke about his values, as well as his new teammates, the new coach, and his targets at the club.
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