Daniel Wagner: The introduction to athletics
At the boarding school, Wagner and his new friends were testing his new prosthetic leg to the limit during the gymnastics sessions.
It was not made for the sport. Eventually, the holster broke as a result of countless jumps and hard landings.
Therefore, Wagner and his parents started searching for a sports prosthesis.
But being active with this new type of leg proved to be quite a challenge.
“Every weekend for six months, when I was home from boarding school, my dad and I went to the lawn of my former school, where I was trying to run. It was like my prosthesis did not move forward. The first time I was running, I landed right on my face. It turned out that I did not have the right technique.”
Both Wagner and his parents were left frustrated. So, they got in touch with Parasport Denmark, where Wagner was introduced to three-time Paralympic gold medallist in shot put Jackie Christiansen.
A change of the knee in the prosthetic leg and adjustment of technique solved Wagner’s problem.
There was still a lot to master it, but Christiansen could see some potential in the teenager. He ended up inviting Wagner to join the para-athletic national team and to come and see a competition in Germany.
“I saw the best leg-amputated athletes in the world doing long jump and sprinting. It was so inspiring, and I got hooked,” Wagner said.
“Then I started to do athletics, while I was still in boarding school. I went to some competitions, where I competed in 100m, 200m, and later on long jump. And I found out that I possessed a bit of talent.”
It did not take long before Wagner started breaking national records in para-athletics and found himself as an integrated part of the Danish national team. When he finished at boarding school, he was getting more serious with the sport and did less gymnastics. But it was important for him to hold onto gymnastics and still do it at least once a week in the beginning.