World Para Athletics Championships: German Runner Wins Gold With 'Kabhi Haar Mat Manna' Headband

'Kabhi haar mat maanna (Never give up)' was written in Hindi on the headband of German para athlete Max Marzillier and the saying inspired him to gold medal in the men's 400m T13 event at the World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi on Friday.

The 29-year-old clocked 49.00 seconds to win gold, ahead of Ryota Fukunaga (49.03 seconds) of Japan and Bose Mokgwathi (49.66 seconds) of Botswana.

"Yeah, I made this myself. I know the meaning. It says never give up, so that's one of my mottos, my life motto," Marzillier told PTI after winning gold in the T13 event meant for runners with a visual impairment.

"I googled what maybe common sayings here in India and I thought maybe this is perfect for me. I thought it would be fitting because it's an Indian saying.

"I think it's pretty common here. So, I thought maybe that's the best thing I can write on it. So, it worked out really well."

Marzillier was spotted in 2016 when he was 14-years-old at a scouting event at his school in Konigs Wusterhausen in the state of Brandenburg by his coach Margaryta Chukhrova..

Suffering from cone-rod dystrophy, Marzillier's vision was reduced to just under 10 per cent at that point, which was also the reason his parents sent him from high school to a special school for visually impaired people in the ninth grade. He then moved to Cottbus, around 130km from Berlin, in 2017 to start his para athletics career..

Cone-rod dystrophy is a genetic condition that causes vision loss due to retinal cell breakdown.

Marzillier said he does not know Hindi beyond these few words but wanted to appreciate what the Indian people have been doing for the visitors to organize such big event.

Asked if he thought he got lucky with the Hindi words, he said, "Yeah, of course. I never thought that I can get the gold here because I know the Japanese (silver medallist) is normally faster. He has the best personal best in the field.

"So, obviously, I thought maybe getting a medal, a bronze or a silver, but that it's going to be the gold, it's just surreal. And I can't put into words what's happening or what's happened here on the track." The German said not giving up till you achieve success has been his motto since he began the sports eight years ago.

"For my last eight years I'm doing this sport, it always was in my head the saying (never give up). It has been a hard journey the past few weeks. But as I said, you just forget all those things, you just want to run and give it everything..

Marzillier, who finished sixth in the 2024 Paris Paralympics, said a coach in the current German team has done the same during her playing days..

"We have a coach here in the team who was a javelin thrower herself. And she also competed in Olympic Games and European and World Championships. And she also wore a headband with a saying in each language of the host nation..

"So, I thought it's a cool idea to try it as well.

"If I'm here in India the next time, maybe I will try to learn some Hindi and speak it also because it worked out very well in the championships (winning gold)," he signed off. PTI PDS PDS KHS