Malu Perez Iser is a Cuban Paralympic athlete who claimed a surprise victory at the Paralympic Games in Rio September 2016 winning a Bronze Medal. German company OTTOBOCK supplied Perez Iser’s running prostheses for recreational athletes and competitive runners (Credit: Ottobock)
By Gary Raynaldo DIPLOMATIC TIMES
In 2009, a car accident destroyed Cuban Malú Pérez Iser’s dream of becoming a professional dancer – her left leg was amputated at the thigh. A twist of fate in her home of Havana gave her a new lease on life as an aspiring athletic runner with the help of German prostheses manufacturing company Ottobock. Pérez Iser would go on to win a bronze medal run at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio. Ottobock is a German prosthetics company situated in Duderstadt. Ottobock received the Inder 60th Anniversary Commemorative Seal last week, arranged exceptionally for personalities and institutions that have made substantive contributions to the development of the Cuban athletic movement. Ottobock develops medical technology products and treatment concepts for people with limited mobility in the areas of Prosthetics, Orthotics, Human Mobility (wheelchairs, rehabilitation devices) and MedicalCare. A family-managed company since its founding in 1919, Ottobock has also been supporting the Paralympic Games with its technical expertise since 1988. Ottobock opened a branch in Havana in 2016 where Pérez Iser trained using prosthetics donated by Ottobock.
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – SEPTEMBER 10: Malu Perez Iser of Cuba competes in the Women’s Long Jump – T42 Final at Olympic Stadium during day 3 of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at on September 10, 2016 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Source: Ottobock /(Photo by Alexandre Loureiro/Getty Images)
Malu Perez Iser is a Cuban Paralympic athlete claimed a surprise victory winning a Bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Rio September 2016. German company OTTOBOCK supplied Perez Iser’s running prostheses for recreational athletes and competitive runners (Credit: Ottobock)
The documentary film Yo soy Malú, which debuted at the Havana Film Festival, followed her life from her injury to her bronze medal run at the 2016 Summer Paralympics. Ottobock has been a partner to the Paralympic Games since 1988, and an international worldwide partner to the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) since 2005.
The documentary film Yo soy Malú, which debuted at the Havana Film Festival, followed her life from her injury to her bronze medal run at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.
GERMAN Company Ottobock Supplies Modern Prosthetics For CUBA
To enable Cuban orthopaedic technicians to provide modern prostheses for their patients, the German medical technology company Ottobock is supplying the island state with expertise and materials.
Professor Hans Georg Naeder heads orthopedic device maker Ottobock SE; it takes its name from his grandfather Otto Bock, who founded the business in 1919. His net worth is $4 billion. (Credit: nader.by)
In 2016, a Ottobock organised a “Running Clinic” for prosthesis wearers in Havana, Cuba.
Heinrich Popow, gold medal winner for long jump at the 2016 Paralympics in Rio, acted as a trainer at this Running Clinic. It was Popow who first recognised the athletic potential of the participants. He said he was surprised when Malu Pérez Iser made it to the podium just one year after taking her first steps with a carbon spring, winning the bronze medal for long jump.
“Seeing the athletic successes during the Paralympics has convinced me yet more that we should keep our eyes on Cuba. There is a great deal of scope for Ottobock to offer support here – not only in the sports sector, but also helping local orthopaedic technology to develop,”
-Professor Hans Georg Näder, President of Ottobock and patron of the Paralympic said in 2016.
