Broken legs, sledges, wheelchairs at Paralympics repair shop

Turkish skier Mehmet Cekic thought his Winter Paralympic dreams had come to an early end when the foot of his prosthetic leg cracked during a practice run in Pyeongchang.

But a team of technicians quickly patched up the device, allowing him to compete, one of many athletes given vital help at a hi-tech Winter Paralympics workshop.

With 567 Paralympians in Pyeongchang competing in high-octane sports from sledge ice hockey to downhill skiing, damage to prosthetic limbs and specialist sports equipment is common.

The centre run by German prosthetics giant Ottobock, which is filled with a huge array of equipment and manned by 23 technicians, seeks to ensure that mishaps don't prevent athletes from competing.

As well as fixing prosthetic limbs, the technicians based in a warehouse in the athletes' village also patch up wheelchairs and repair gear such as para-ice hockey sledges and sit-skis, used by skiers with leg impairments.

"Every repair is different," Peter Franzel, a director at Ottobock and head of the workshop, told AFP.

"It's not like changing oil in a car, it's really highly individual."
- Trouser trouble -
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