A little tired but smiling, Kathrin Marchand arrives for her first training session of the day. With her para-rowing partner Valentin Luz, she spends the morning on the water in a double scull. After a few stretches, they’re off.
“Five years ago, I never would have thought I’d be rowing this much again,” Marchand said. “I consider it a privilege that I can still compete at the elite level.”
Now 35, Marchand made her Olympic debut in London in 2012 as part of the German women’s eight and competed again at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. After Rio she paused her sporting career, completed a medical degree and began working as a doctor in 2018 — until a stroke in 2021 changed everything.
During an indoor cycling class her left side suddenly went numb. “I didn’t immediately think of a stroke back then because I was simply far too young. I was 30 years old and had no preexisting conditions,” she recalled. She waited about an hour before calling an ambulance; an MRI confirmed the stroke. “In that moment, you think: ‘What did I do to deserve this?'”
The medical shock altered her life. Marchand has since struggled with concentration, forgetfulness, orientation problems and a reduced field of vision. It took time to accept the limitations. “It’s really hard when you’re suddenly torn away from your everyday life,” she said. “I’ll never be healthy again. I’ve learned that the body isn’t a machine, even if I sometimes wish it were.” She has had to lower her standards and set fewer goals, but she says she has learned not to be so hard on herself. “I’ve changed my perspective. Of course my limitations annoy me, but in the end, it comes down to how you deal with them.”
Just months after the stroke, Marchand returned to a boat — this time as a para-athlete. She drew on lessons from sport about coping with setbacks. Early successes came quickly: medals at European and World Championships and qualification for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, where she finished fourth in the German mixed four.
“I used to have nothing to do with para sports and had no connection to it at all,” she said. After speaking with para-athletes and attending her first training, she found the experience uplifting. “Everyone there had a disability, and then you see: ‘Hey, having a disability isn’t so bad.’ It was a totally positive experience.”
After several years in summer para sports, Marchand took on a new challenge: para cross-country skiing. Her first sessions on narrow skis were difficult, but she adapted and qualified for the Milan‑Cortina Winter Paralympic Games. By doing so she made history as the first athlete to compete at the Summer Olympics, the Summer Paralympics and the Winter Paralympics.
Her profile has risen in Germany, and she uses that platform to encourage others facing similar challenges. “I’m just living my life and find it amazing when I can inspire other people or serve as a role model,” she said. “I’m always happy when I get messages saying, ‘Hey, we love what you’re doing, and it’s helped us get through a difficult time.'”
Marchand tries to make the most of her life and believes the stroke has given her more than it took away, a view that surprises some. “I used to be healthy, and now I’m sick. Why would anyone want to be sick when they can be healthy?” she acknowledged. Her answer: before the stroke her life was far more stressful, she worked a lot and took less joy in daily life. “I could have turned my life around before, but I didn’t. It’s a shame that it takes a moment of fate to realize so many things.”
Content with her life and aware of her limits, Marchand still sets big targets. She hopes to win her first Paralympic medal in para-rowing at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.