Paris can be an emotionally engaging city for anyone strolling through the streets.
For Paralympic swimmer Mar Gunnarsson, it was that times 10.
The swimmer from Iceland had a record-breaking performance in the pool in Paris, while being one of the very few out gay male athletes at the 2024 Paralympics.
Gunnarsson sat down with Raymond Braun — himself an out gay athlete — to talk about his emotional response to the Paris Paralympics, as well as his record-breaking performance.
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“They obviously caught me very much after the race,” Gunnarsson told Braun. “And I hate crying, so I’m like, I’m not doing it, but still I ended up doing it.
“But I felt like letting everything go and being open and honest.”
In the race, Gunnarsson set the national record in Iceland in the Men’s 100m backstroke – S11 event. The S11 category means each athlete is blind or nearly blind, and they compete in blacked-out goggles.
“I couldn’t have asked for much more,” Gunnarsson told Braun. “It was amazing. Truly special because again, I had worked so hard for it.”
Gunnarsson had previously participated in the Tokyo Paralympics, making him a two-time Paralympian.
“Today I swam the fastest I’ve ever swam in my life, which so happened to break the Icelandic record and delivered me seventh place in the final,” he wrote on Instagram. “Having already quit swimming, started again, moved alone to a new country, started a university degree. I am proud to be once more among the best.”
He’d been training in the UK where he had been studying, and he felt a bit alone. Though he had his dog, Max, with him. So the national-record success in the Paris Paralympics pool meant that much more to him.
Now Gunnarsson is wondering if the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles are on his horizon. They are likely there for the taking if he chooses.
