Athletes

Markus Salcher

Austria Para alpine skiing 5 June 1991

Klagenfurt, Austria

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Biography

Human Interest
Data	Value
Impairment Information
Origin of Impairment	Congenital
Classification	LW9-1
Further Personal Information
Residence	Klagenfurt, AUT
Occupation	Athlete
Languages	English, French, German
Higher education	Media and Communications - University of Klagenfurt: Austria
Sport Specific Information
When and where did you begin this sport?	He first tried skiing at age two in Nassfeld, Austria.
Why this sport?	"My family is a very much into skiing and my dad was trainer of the local skiing team."
Club / Team	SV Tropolach: Austria
Name of coach	Markus Gutenbrunner [national], AUT
International Debut
Year	2007
Competing for	Austria
General Interest
Hobbies	Cycling, swimming, spending time with friends. (hasslacher.com, 19 May 2020)
Most influential person in career	His father. (paralympic.org, 10 Oct 2013)
Hero / Idol	Austrian alpine skier Matthias Mayer. (IPC, 10 Feb 2018)
Injuries	In 2008 he broke the tibia bone in his right leg. (IPC, 10 Feb 2018)
Sporting philosophy / motto	"Every success starts with the decision to try." (IPC, 10 Feb 2018)
Awards and honours	In 2018 he was named Male Para Athlete of the Year in the Carinthia region of Austria. (kleinezeitung.at, 22 Dec 2018) He was named Male Para Athlete of the Year in Austria in 2014 and 2017. (IPC, 10 Feb 2018; paralympic.org, 31 Oct 2014) He was flag bearer for Austria at the closing ceremony of the 2014 Paralympic Winter Games in Sochi. (sochi2014.com, 15 Mar 2014) He was named Athlete of the Month for January 2014 by the International Paralympic Committee [IPC]. (paralympic.org, 11 Feb 2014)
Famous relatives	His father was a coach of the Austria alpine skiing team at the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Turin. His brother Moritz has competed in alpine skiing at club level in Austria. (meinbezirk.at, 21 Jan 2014; paralympic.org, 10 Oct 2013)
Impairment	He was born with hemiplegia due to a lack of oxygen at birth. The condition affects the right side of his body. (IPC, 10 Feb 2018; paralympic.org, 10 Oct 2013; voelk.com, 25 Apr 2012)
Other information	OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2017 he began serving as an ambassador for the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. "As an ambassador, it is important for me to make sport accessible to all groups in society. Last year [2018] I launched the project 'Be There' with a focus on barrier-free ski access in Nassfeld. We want to equip families or school classes with accessible sports equipment. Skiing should be possible for everyone." (meinbezirk.at, 27 Oct 2019; IPC, 10 Feb 2018)

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