NYRR Media Center

Manuela Schär is one of the most accomplished and dominant figures in wheelchair racing as a 10-time Paralympic medalist, 11-time world championships medalist, and three-time TCS New York City Marathon champion. Her most recent TCS New York City Marathon victory in 2019 was the third-fastest time in event history. Schär has made the podium in all 10 of her appearances at the TCS New York City Marathon and is also a three-time champion of the United Airlines NYC Half. Most recently she finished third at the 2024 TCS New York City Marathon.

At the Paris 2024 Paralympics, she captured gold in the 800 meters and silver in the 400 meters, further cementing her status as one of the world’s best wheelchair athletes. In Tokyo at the 2020 Paralympics, she made history by earning five medals – more than any other track and field athlete – winning gold in the 400 and 800 meters and bronze in the 1,500 meters, 5,000 meters, and the marathon. That year, she also dominated the marathon circuit, breaking the tape in Berlin, Chicago, Tokyo, Boston, and London. A year later she successfully defended her title in Boston and followed that up with a win at the 2023 Tokyo Marathon in a course-record time of 1:36:43.

Schär’s marathon dominance began in 2017 when she won her first TCS New York City Marathon after three consecutive runner-up finishes. She won her first of three consecutive Abbott World Marathon Majors series titles that year, helped by clocking what was then a world-best time of 1:28:17 to win the Boston Marathon, winning the London Marathon, and breaking the women’s wheelchair world record with a 1:36:53 victory at the Berlin Marathon.

Schär has used a wheelchair since she was eight when a playground accident paralyzed her from the waist down. She has used her platform for advocacy and serves as an ambassador for Right to Play, an organization that helps children in disadvantaged countries take part in sports programs.