SCHAEFER Leon

Classification
T63, F63 (IPC, 18 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (Athlete, 18 Jul 2017)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Athlete, 18 Jul 2017)

Impairment Details
At age 12 he was diagnosed with bone cancer. In 2010 his right leg had to be amputated in order to save his life. (Athlete, 18 Jul 2017; radiobremen.de, 03 Mar 2016)

General
FOOTBALL AND ATHLETICS
He was an aspiring footballer as a child and dreamed of becoming a professional player. "I learned a lot about team spirit in football. The team is everything, you learn to deal with success, defeat and the importance of working together. I love to feel this support and motivation around me. In athletics I learned to trust myself even more and to believe that I can do anything. I have developed a strong will, positive ambition and even more passion. Both sports have shaped me a lot and make me what I am today - an athlete with specific goals and the desire to show all athletes out there that they can do it, regardless of their physical abilities." (focus.de, 30 Dec 2019)

MAKING A WISH
At age 12 he injured himself ice skating, and thought that the bump on his leg would disappear. When it did not, he went to a doctor and they diagnosed a malignant tumour. Doctors tried to save his leg with a number of operations, but when that failed they had to amputate it. "Soon after my operation, I saw a pamphlet advertising Para sports. I put it aside and quickly forgot it. But some time later, at the end of my chemotherapy, I was told that every child in the hospital in Bremen was given one wish. The pamphlet came back to my mind because I had been thinking about sport and my future. I told them my wish was to meet a Para athlete with a prosthesis. I went to Leverkusen with my mum for a weekend and watched Markus Rehm training. That was enough to motivate me and made me incredibly keen to start with athletics." (focus.de, 30 Dec 2019)