New Delhi, October 7: When Markus Rehm prepares for the jump, the question has never been who will win it, but rather about how long the jumps will be. Sometimes, even gravity seems optional when he takes off.
The legendary German jumper lit up the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi when he stepped on the runway and soared to a gold medal in the men’s long jump T64 (athletes with a leg amputation, who compete with prosthetics) at the World Para Athletics Championships with an impressive leap of 8.43m. In the process, he also set a new Championship Record by breaking his own mark.
On Friday, Rehm known as ‘The Blade Jumper’ showed the whole world again what he’s capable of and added yet another glittering feather to his cap; this marked his 10th World Para Athletics Championship title.
A-16 Year Circle with His Coach
Rehm’s return to India carried a special place as he partook in his first international para long jump competition in Bengaluru, back in 2009, with a boyish excitement alongside his coach Steffi Nerius (a former World Champion and Olympics medalist in women’s javelin throw).
For Rehm, this particular World Championship marked the end of an era as both he and Nerius have decided to part ways. Rehm gave her a golden farewell. He stepped in the mixed zone wearing a bandana on which “Dankee Steffi and Dhanyawad Steffi” were written, which translates to “Thank you Steffi” in English.
“That competition in India was our start,” an emotional Rehm recalled. “It was the first time we went abroad together. I was nobody then and Steffi gave me the belief. That was the start of a fantastic journey and I am happy that it comes to an end in India itself. Our first international meet was here. Now we finish here. It feels like life wrote this story,” he said with a smile.
“We’ve won so many titles, Paralympic golds and world titles together and rewritten the world record 14 times,” he said. “It’s more than just a coach and athlete relationship, it’s a different bond. She always wore a headband when she competed in a javelin throw competition, so I wore one today to honour her.”
Now Rehm will join the Dutch training batch in Amsterdam, alongside the Paralympic and World Champion Fleur Jong.
No Bitterness For Anyone
Rehm’s success with prosthetic blades has ignited a debate around his participation in able-bodied competitions, especially when he won the German Athletics Championship back in 2014 with a 8.24m leap. At the start of his career, people made fun of him but the German jumper took it all in his stride.
“When I started, people didn’t take me seriously. They thought, okay, this disabled guy is doing sports. They made jokes on me that if I came within 50 centimeters, I would win. Then I started jumping farther and suddenly those jokes stopped.”
He looks at the hate and laughter as a strange compliment. “Fifteen years ago, people laughed at us. Now they say I have an advantage. That means I’ve progressed.”
His German Championship title was upheld after the protest from able-bodied athletes. Rehm then was banned from the 2014 European Championship as it was ruled that blade gives him advantage as his amputated right leg with blade is longer than his natural leg. For the same reason he was not allowed to participate at the Rio Olympics 2016.
“So all the other guys, they didn’t like me and used to say I won because of a prosthetic leg, they hated me for this,” Rehm recalled.
“Funny thing was it’s the same thing today with some Olympic athletes. So usually, most of the athletes are chilled now. But when I started beating Olympic athletes, they absolutely didn’t like it.”
Despite being barred from competing in able-bodied world events and hated by others, Rehm holds no bitterness for anyone. “I always wanted to be fair. I don’t need to take anything away from anyone. I just love to compete. Whether it’s with a prosthetic or two legs, it doesn’t matter. That’s what sport should be.”
Chasing the Elusive Nine
When Rehm began the long jump, the world record was under seven metres for the amputees. He excelled under Nerius, leaping over all the impossible numbers. Now Rehm holds the Para World record leap of 8.72m, which is a dream for the majority of able-bodied jumpers.
Rehm’s inspiration comes from the legends who defined the long-jump history. He has browsed videos of those legends many times. “ I used to watch the videos of Bob Beamon, Carl Lewis and Mike Powell. I still watch them before my competitions. Those jumps, those moments, they’re just unbelievable.”
The World record leap of 8.95m stands in the name of Mike Powell which he set in 1991 and Rehm believes that he belongs to the same league. “I want to reach that level or even want to go beyond, so people remember my name alongside those who redefined what was possible.”
For him, records are not just numbers, they’re milestones of imagination. His biggest dream is the audacious 9 metres mark which no one has achieved ever, and for it he doesn’t want any stone unturned.
“No athlete in history has jumped 9 meters,” he said. “It’s a magic number and I even saved it on my phone as a reminder. Maybe I’ll never achieve this mark, but I don’t want to look back in 20-30 years when I’m old and grey and say that I didn’t try. I want to say I gave it everything.”
The 2025 Tokyo World Athletics Championship men’s long jump gold was won by Mattia Furlani with a leap of 8.39m, and looking at that one can imagine what Rehm is capable of.
“I believe that the pursuit of striving for the impossible defines what sports is all about,” said the five-time Paralympic Champion.
“Today if you see Paralympic jumpers are matching and even they’re surpassing Olympic distances,” he said proudly. “We jumped even farther distances than the Olympic world champion today. That shows how far para sports have come,” he added.
The Accident That Changed Everything
At 14 years of age, a horrific accident changed the life of Rehm forever. “I was wakeboarding and I fell into the water when a random boat ran over me. My leg went into the engine,” Rehm recalled the incident quietly. “ They tried to save it but infection set in and my mom had to tell me they had to amputate.”
Rehm had never seen anyone with a prosthetic leg nor did he have any idea about the carbon fiber prosthetic blades. “I have never seen anybody with a prosthetic leg. I never knew how my life would be with a prosthetic leg. And it was difficult at the beginning. But then I just found my way back to sports.” he said.
Two years later, I was back in wakeboarding with the help of prosthetic leg and finished in second place at the German Junior Championships against able-bodied athletes.”
Able-bodied athletes, though, started resenting him. “The able-bodied athletes hated losing to me,” he said with a laugh. That’s why I love my nickname, “‘The Blade Jumper’, because it makes it easier for others as it sounds cool. ‘Losing to The Blade Jumper’ that’s fine.’ Losing to a disabled guy doesn’t feel as good for them,” he joked.
🗣️ Markus Rehm: “Able-bodied athletes hated losing to me with a prosthetic leg. Nobody likes to lose to a disabled person — that’s why I like the name ‘The Blade Jumper’. If you lose to the Blade Jumper, it’s fine.”
🇩🇪 From wakeboarding to athletics — Germany’s legendary long… pic.twitter.com/979oce9tux
— RevSportz Global (@RevSportzGlobal) October 4, 2025
Still in Love with Long Jumps
Rehm started his passion for sports from a small town in Donzdorf, Germany, at a very young age. The 37-year-old still speaks about long jumps with the same boyish excitement. “It sounds funny but I still love it,” he said. “That moment when I take off, all the energy flows through my body and it’s like a drug. That’s what keeps me going.”
When he was packing his gears after the interview, his eyes were sparkling with the same hunger that began 16 years ago. The hunger for longer leaps. Maybe, someday, for that imaginary 9-metre mark.
For more such exclusive stories, follow RevSportz