Marcel Eric Hug (; born 16 January 1986) is a

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

from Switzerland competing in category T54

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and field, track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are c ...

events. Hug, nicknamed 'The Silver Bullet', has competed in four

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

for Switzerland, winning two bronze medals in his first Games in Athens in 2004. In 2010 he set four world records in four days, and at the 2011 World Championships he won a gold in the 10,000 metres and four silver medals, losing the gold in three events to long term rival David Weir. This rivalry continued into the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

in London, where Hug won two silvers, in the 800m and the marathon. In the 2013 World Championships Hug dominated the field, winning five golds and a silver. During the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

in Rio, Hug was one of the most consistent competitors in the T54 class, winning two golds, in the 800m and marathon, and two silvers medals, in the 1500m and 5000m. As well as numerous World and European track medals, Hug is also a world class marathon athlete, setting the Boston Marathon course record as well as winning the men's elite wheelchair event at the

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

(

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

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2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

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2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

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(

) and

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s (

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

2025 So far, the year has seen the continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudanese civil war, and the Gaza war. Internal crises in Bangladesh post-resignation v ...

Career history

Early career

Hug was born in the municipality of

Pfyn Pfyn is a municipality in Frauenfeld District in the canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. Pfyn gives its name to the ancient Pfyn culture, one of several Neolithic cultures in Switzerland which centered on intensive pig farming and trading, da ...

in Switzerland in 1986. Born with

spina bifida Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...

, Hug grew up on a farm, the youngest of four brothers. As a young child, he met Swiss wheelchair racer, and Hug's sporting idol, Franz Nietlispach, beginning Hug's desire to take up athletics. The ten-year-old Hug was introduced to racing when a sports teacher bought him an old racing wheelchair. This led to Hug competing in his first wheelchair race that year, the 3 km youth race which was part of the Schenkon Marathon. Winning this event inspired him to take up wheelchair athletics and he joined the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in

Nottwil Nottwil is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Nottwil is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Nottewile''. In 1275 it was mentioned as ''Otewile''. Nottwil is also the location where the ...

where he teamed up with trainer Paul Odermatt. The following years saw Hug develop from a junior athlete into an elite racer and he began competing in both Switzerland and abroad. In 2001 he made the athletics team for Wheelchair Sport Switzerland (''Rollstuhlsport Schweiz''), and the same year he was accepted into the sports school at Kreuzlingen. Hug described the fact that he was the only wheelchair athlete at the school as being "immensely important for my personal development." In 2002 Hug accepted a place at the Schule für Beruf und Weiterbildung (School for Employment and Further Education) in

Romanshorn Romanshorn is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Arbon (district), Arbon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Thurgau in Switzerland. History Romanshorn was probably settled in the 7th century, and is first menti ...

, believing that an education outside sport would be vital in his later life.

Elite career

Hug competed in his first world class international when he was selected to represent Switzerland at the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

in Athens despite not being part of the national team setup. He took part in both men's wheelchair relay races the 4 × 100m T53–T54 and 4 × 400m T53–T54, although Switzerland failed to progress through to the finals in either events. As an individual he competed in four races, reaching the finals in each. He failed to medal in the 400m and 5000m but finishing third in both the 800m (1:32.66) and 1500m (3:05.48) where he won his two bronze medals. On returning from the Games he was named Newcomer of the Year 2004 by Credit Suisse Sports Award and the following year he graduated to the Swiss national team. In 2006 Hug competed for Switzerland at the

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

in Assen in the Netherlands. There he took his first major international gold medal when he won the men's 10,000m in the T54 (23:06.71). He collected a further three medals at the games, silvers in the 400m (48.97), 800m (1:39.10) and 5,000m (11:20.68). In the 400m he lost the gold to British racer David Weir, beginning a rivalry between the two athletes that would define many of their races on the track and in marathons over the following years. In 2008 Hug travelled to Beijing with the Swiss team to compete in the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics, also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebr ...

. There he competed in four tracks events: the 400m, 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m; and the

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. By his own admission the games were a disappointment, as he failed to record a single podium finish, crashing out in both the 1,500m and the marathon. His fortunes changed over the next two years and this was highlighted by his results in the 2010 season. Between the 24 and 27 June 2010 Hug competed at a race meet in Switzerland. There he set new world records in four events in the T54 category: the 800m (1:31.12), 1,500m (2:54.51), 5,000m (9:53.05) and 10,000m (19:50.04). The next major competition for Hug was the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championship held in Christchurch, New Zealand. Despite going into the Championship as the new world champion, David Weir, whose records Hug had broken in 2010, was also hitting form as he eyed the Paralympic finals in his home capital of London in 2012. Hug ambitiously entered all eight events available to him. He was disqualified from his less favoured sprint events, the

100m The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at ...

and

200m The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400-metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slight ...

, but in the mid distance 400m, he took the silver, finishing second to China's Liu Chengming. In the 800m, 1,500m and 5,000m Hug faced Weir in the finals, and was unable to beat his British rival, taking silver behind Weir in all three events. Hug was still able to leave the Championship with a gold when he took the 10,000m, but failed to complete the marathon. It was during these championships that Hug gained the nickname 'The Silver Bullet', given to him in reference to his trademark silver helmet that he wears when racing. 2011 also saw Hug win his first major city marathon event when he came first in the 2011 Berlin Marathon. The 2011 World Championships set the scene for the build-up to the

, held in London. Hug entered five events, reaching the finals in all of them. In the 400m he qualified in second place in his heat, but finished fifth in the final. In the 800m he came through his heat in second place to David Weir, and the result was repeated in the final, Hug taking silver to Weir's gold. In both the 1,500m and 5,000m he finished just outside the medals in fourth place. In the

, the final race of the Athletics program of the Paralympics, only a second separated Weir in gold, Hug in silver and Australia's Kurt Fearnley in bronze. Hug completed 2012 by retaining his marathon crown in German by winning the

2012 Berlin Marathon The 2012 Berlin Marathon was the 39th edition of the annual marathon event and was held on Sunday 30 September on the streets of Berlin, Germany. An IAAF Gold Label Road Race, it was the third World Marathon Majors event to be held that year. Geoff ...

. Weir's decision not to compete at the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 World Para Athletics Championships, IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 Jul ...

in Lyon, opened up the field. Hug took full opportunity of the situation and dominated the T54 track events. He entered six events winning gold in five of them:

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor running track, it is ...

, 1,500 metres, 5,000 metres,

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship-level events. The ...

and

Marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

. The only person to best him at the Championship was Kim Gyu-Dae of South Korea who pushed Hug into silver medal position in the

800 metres The 800 metres, or 800 meters (American and British English spelling differences#-re.2C -er, US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of a ...

. In November 2013 Hug entered his fourth

New York Marathon The New York City Marathon, currently branded as the TCS New York City Marathon for sponsorship reasons, is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 fin ...

, and in a close race edged out South Africa's Ernst Van Dyk to take the title. On 13 April 2014, a week after winning the

Paris Marathon The Paris Marathon () is an annual marathon (sport), marathon hosted by the city of Paris, France. It is the largest running event in France in terms of finishers and is typically among the five largest marathons in the world. The marathon begi ...

, Hug entered the

London Marathon The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to Oct ...

, beating his long-time rival Weir into second place to take the men's wheelchair title. This was Hug's first London Marathon win after finishing second in 2010, 2012 and 2013. After finishing fourth in the last two attempts, on 20 April 2015 Hug finished first in the

, beating ten-times winner Ernst Van Dyk into second place by over six minutes. Later that year Hug competed in the

2015 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships were a Paralympic track and field meet organized by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. The event was the 7th edition of what is now known as the World Para ...

in Doha, with commentators believing the major medals would be contested between Hug and Weir. Instead the longer events were dominated by Thailand's

Rawat Tana Rawat Tana (born 5 May 1977) is a wheelchair racer from Thailand who is a gold medalist at both the Summer Paralympic and World Championships. At the 2004 Olympic Games, he finished 3rd in the demonstration sport of Men's 1500m wheelchair. In ...

, who took gold in both the 1500m and 5000m. Hug finished fifth in the 1500m but managed to win a silver in the 5000m. Hug also entered the 800m, where he finished third to collect his second medal of the games. In 2016 Hug won two elite city marathon events in the space of a week. On 18 April Hug won his second Boston Marathon with a time of 1:24.01, and followed this six days later with his second London Marathon victory. Marcel Hug Boston Marathon

In 2016 Hug qualified for his fourth consecutive Paralympics, travelling to Rio de Janeiro where he took part in four events at the

. He won medals in all four events, two silvers in the 1500m and 5000m races and his first Paralympic gold medals, one in the 800m and then on the last day he also won the men's T54 marathon. After Rio, Hug continued to compete on the World Marathon circuit, and in October he won his first

Chicago Marathon The Chicago Marathon is a road marathon held in October in Chicago, Illinois. It is one of the seven World Marathon Majors. Thus, it is also a World Athletics Label Road Race. The Chicago Marathon is one of the largest races by number of fini ...

, beating Kurt Fearnley in a photo finish. In November, in a repeat of a photo finish against Kurt Fearnley, he won his second New York City Marathon. In October 2022, Hug won the 2022 London Marathon, with a time of 1:24:38, two seconds ahead of American competitor Daniel Romanchuk. The following year, Hug returned for his fourth Chicago Marathon where he surpassed his previous record with a time of 1:22:37. In April 2025, Hug won the Boston Marathon for the eighth time.

References

External links

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Marcel Hug
at the Swiss Paralympic Committee {{DEFAULTSORT:Hug, Marcel 1986 births Living people People from Frauenfeld District Swiss male wheelchair racers Paralympic athletes for Switzerland Paralympic gold medalists for Switzerland Paralympic silver medalists for Switzerland Paralympic bronze medalists for Switzerland Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2024 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships World Para Athletics Championships winners World record holders in para-athletics Laureus World Sports Awards winners Berlin Marathon male winners Boston Marathon male winners Chicago Marathon male winners London Marathon male winners New York City Marathon male winners People with spina bifida Sportspeople from Thurgau 20th-century Swiss sportsmen 21st-century Swiss sportsmen