Bayer long jumper Rehm wins fourth gold medal in succession at the Paralympics

That means Rehm, at TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen since 2008 and one of the torchbearers at the opening ceremony, remains unbeaten in his fourth Paralympic games – as in every other previous competition in his 14 years active as a professional Para-athlete. In addition to his four gold medals in long jump, he also won the gold in the 4 x 100 metres relay at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

In Paris, Rehm's first jump would have been enough with four of his six attempts in the T64 category being worthy of gold. The Leverkusen athlete achieved a jump of 8.13 metres. That put him a good way behind the world record (8.72 metres) but clearly ahead of his rivals from the USA: Silver medal winner Derek Loccident jumped 7.79 metres, bronze medal winner Jarryd Wallace 7.49 metres.

"It was a tough competition for us all but the medal counts at the end of the day and gold is incredibly fantastic," said a beaming Rehm after the winning performance. "It's incredible when you win the fourth goal medal at the fourth games. That was the target but, at the end of the day, it's a different matter when you do it against strong competition."

The Leverkusen athlete is now, alongside the USA long jump legend Carl Lewis, the only track and field athlete to win four gold medals in succession in his discipline at the Olympic or Paralympic games..

other medals for Leverkusen athletes

18-year-old Maurice Wetekam also secured a medal at the Paralympics. The Para-swimmer at TSV Bayer 04 set a German record to win the bronze medal in the 100 metre breaststroke event (category SB9). It was the first medal for Germany at this year's Paralympics.

Irmgard Bensusan also won a bronze medal. She earned her sixth medal at her third and final Paralympics. The South African-born athlete came third in the 200 metres T64 event in 26.7 seconds to pick up her first bronze medal following on from five silver medals.

The Paralympics 2024 in Paris started on 28 August and end on Sunday, 8 September. Around 4,400 athletes from over 180 nations compete in 549 different competitions in 22 Olympic sports.