Markus Rehm
German Paralympic athlete (born 1988)

Markus Rehm (born 22 August 1988 in Göppingen, West Germany) is a German Paralympic athlete, and in the long jump has won four Paralympic, six world and five European titles. He began in sports at age 20 and became a long jump F44 world champion in 2011. His club is TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and he is a medical specialist. Rehm is nicknamed "The Blade Jumper", as he is a long jumper with a blade-type leg prosthesis. Rehm's right leg was amputated below the knee after a wakeboarding accident. He uses a carbon-fibre bladed prosthesis, from which he jumps off.
He holds the long jump world record in his category at 8.72m set in Rhede, Germany in June 2023, breaking his previous mark of 8.62 m set at the 2021 World Para Athletics European Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
01Athletics career
2012 London Paralympics
Rehm won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London in the long jump F42/44 classification. He made (7.35 m/1,093 points) and set a new world record. On winning he stated "I think it was the perfect jump today."
2014 German championships
Rehm won the 2014 German Athletics Championships in long jump, with a jump of 8.24 m (27.0 ft). However many able-bodied longjumpers protested that he had an unfair advantage due to his blade. His national title was upheld.
2014 European Athletics Championships
Rehm was banned from the 2014 European Athletics Championships, as it was ruled that his blade gave him an unfair advantage over able-bodied athletes. His blade made his amputee right leg 3-4 cm (1.2-1.6 in) longer than his natural leg. Rehm jumps off with his right leg.
2015 German championships
Rehm again placed first in the long jump at the 2015 German Athletics Championships. However, his results still do not count towards winning the championship, as the German Federation has ruled that the prosthetics cannot be ruled out as providing an unfair advantage. He finished on top with a jump of 8.11 m (26.6 ft).
2015 IPC Athletics World Championships
At the 2015 Doha World Championship, Rehm set a world IPC disability record in the long jump, at 8.40 m (27.6 ft). That distance of 8.40m was enough to win the gold medal at the prior 3 Summer Olympics (2012 London, 2008 Beijing, 2004 Athens).
2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics
Rehm attempted to qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics, to become the second bladed athlete to compete at the Olympics, following Oscar Pistorius at the 2012 Summer Olympics. A rules change at the IAAF meant that he needed to qualify his prosthesis with the IAAF to prove that it did not provide an advantage over able-bodied athletes. A study by the University of Cologne determined that the prosthetic was a disadvantage in the run-up portion of the long jump but advantageous during the jump, however there was no overall advantage. However, the IAAF ruled that Germany failed to prove its case, and denied Rehm permission to participate at the Rio Olympics.
2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympics
Rehm competed in the long jump T43/T44 and 4 × 100 m relay T42-47 and won both events, jumping 8.21 m in the final. He served as the flag bearer for Germany at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Parade of Nations.
2017 World Athletics Championships
Rehm will again attempt to qualify for an IAAF-sanctioned able-bodied competition, the London 2017 World Championships in Athletics. Following the 2016 Paralympics.
2021 World Para Athletics European Championships (1.06.2021, 5.06.2021)
Markus Rehm won the long jump competition setting a new world record of 8.62m.

02Results
Non-disabled sports events
| Time (s) / Distance (s) | Results / Placements | Date | Event | Competition | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8.24 m (27.0 ft) | Gold | 26 July 2014 | Long jump | 2014 German Athletics Championships | |
| DSQ | DNS | N/A | Long jump | 2014 European Athletics Championships | Rehm qualified to compete, but was later disqualified and did not compete, after his blade was ruled in contravention |
| 8.11 m (26.6 ft) | Top finisher | 24 July 2015 | Long jump | 2015 German Athletics Championships | Rehm competed but was not ranked; he finished with the longest jump. All competitors using prosthetics were deemed to be out of order and did not rank in the placements. |
| 8.10 m (26.6 ft) | Gold | February 2016 | Long jump | 2016 Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix |
Sources and credits
This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Markus Rehm”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.
Images, from Wikimedia Commons:
- Markus Rehm Rio2016b cr.jpg by Fernando Frazão/Agência Brasil, CC BY 3.0 br
- DLV Leichtathletik DM 2014 Markus REHM by Olaf Kosinsky -12.jpg by Dieses Foto ist von Olaf Kosinsky Achtung: Dieses Bild ist nicht gemeinfrei. Es ist zwar frei benutzbar aber gesetzlich geschützt. This photo was created by Olaf Kosinsky Note: this image is not in the Public Domain. It is free to use but protected by law. Bitte benutzen Sie nach Möglichkeit als Bildbeschreibung: Olaf Kosinsky / Wikipedia in unmittelbarer Nähe beim Bild oder an einer Stelle in ihrer Publikation, wo dies üblich ist. Dabei muß der Zusammenhang zwischen Bild und Urhebernennung gewahrt bleiben. I prefer the following credit: Olaf Kosinsky / Wikipedia near to the photo or at a location that is common in your publication but preserving the association between image and credit. Bitte lesen sie den vollen Lizenztext gründlich, bevor sie das Bild nutzen! Wenn sie Fragen zu den Lizenzvereinbarungen haben oder weniger restriktive kommerzielle Lizenzen wünschen, kontaktieren sie mich per Mail: kosinsky@web.de Please review the full license requirements carefully before using this image. If you would like to clarify the terms of the license or negotiate less restrictive commercial licensing outside of the bounds of Licenses, please contact me by email: kosinsky@web.de, CC BY-SA 3.0 de
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