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World Para Athletics Championships: When Markus Rehm soared to 8.43m at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships taking place in New Delhi, he not only claimed his eighth successive world title but also ended one of the most extraordinary partnerships in para sport history.

Behind the gold medal lay a quiet yet powerful story: a 16-year bond between athlete and coach, between Rehm and Steffi Nerius, that began in India and fittingly concluded in India.

Sixteen years ago, a lanky German long jumper and his new coach stepped into a packed stadium in Bangalore for their first international event together. The teenager was raw, driven, and searching for himself after losing his right leg in a wakeboarding accident at the age of 14. His coach, Steffi Nerius, was already a world champion in her own right — a javelin thrower who had stood on podiums, felt the weight of pressure, and knew what it meant to win.