In exactly six months, the magical backdrop of the City of Love will be the setting for the 2024 Paralympic Games. From 28 August to 8 September 4,400 athletes from all over the world will be competing in 23 different sports in Paris.

As a longstanding partner of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the medical technology company Ottobock is once again providing the technical service this year – before and during the Paralympic Games.

Peter Franzel, Head of Events, Exhibitions & Sports at Ottobock, on the relevance of the technical repair service centre: “Just imagine: As an athlete, you trained hard for many years. You do your utmost during training and qualifying competitions. Now you’re in charming Paris to finally make your dream of participating in the Paralympic Games, establishing a new world record or winning a medal, come true. Suddenly there is something wrong with your technical device that is essential to participate in the competition – an absolute nightmare for any Paralympian.”

The Ottobock technical repair service centre gets athletes' backs

To make sure this does not happen, and to ensure that athletes can still take part in their competitions even if something breaks or needs to be replaced, a 164-member Ottobock team from 41 countries, speaking 31 languages, is on hand to provide advice and practical assistance to the athletes.

Experienced wheelchair, prosthesis and orthosis specialists as well as other medical devices experts will be at hand at the games in a 650 square metre main technical repair service centre and 14 smaller technical repair service centres at the sports facilities. This service is offered to every athlete free of charge, regardless of the manufacturer and type of device.

Time savings thanks to a more digital technical repair service centre

The commitment of Ottobock to Paralympic sports dates back to 1988, when four Australian O&P professionals set up a pavilion to maintain and repair devices at the Games in Seoul. This commitment has been continuously expanded over the years and is now distinguished by a new digital development.

“This year, our technical repair service centre is more digital than ever before,” explains Julian Napp, Technical Director of the technical repair service centre in Paris and Master Orthopaedic Technician at Ottobock. ”We will be using 3D printers to produce insoles or spare parts on site. The technical repair service centre will also be equipped with scanners that take athletes’ measurements instead of conventional plaster casts.”

These digital innovations promise significant time savings and open up new possibilities in the technical repair service centre. For example, digital modelling allows prosthetic sockets to be fabricated more quickly. This can often be less complicated than repairing the old socket. These advanced technologies will expand our capacities and make treatment for athletes more convenient.

“We are delighted to be able to support the athletes once again with our Technical Repair Service Centre in six months’ time. It is always a magical and emotional experience. The preparations are in full swing,” says Peter Franzel.