My personal results service just reported that the team from the Netherlands is beating our German Ladies' Basketball team 8:4, so we are a bit worried. But the bonus victory against the favorites from Australia in the preliminary round, in which the ladies kept their nerve to successfully win an extremely tough game, gives me confidence that I will be able to announce their advance to the semi-final by the end of this report. Another hour is sure to pass before the game ends, so I might catch part of the last quarter if I hurry up. After that, I plan to see what's happening in the IPC lounge.

Having spent two weeks in the workshop, any change of scenery is appealing. Our team of technicians has already handled around 1,600 jobs. This is frequently accompanied by delightful meetings, such as the one today with a trio from Switzerland: Urs Kolly, Benedikt Sturny and Walter Grubenmann.

Urs Kolly is one of the most experienced and prominent multidisciplinary athletes, and was the first to use his prosthesis as the takeoff leg in the long jump. Today this has become the rule. Urs is looking forward to an exciting final with a field that includes world record holder Wojtek Czyz.

Like Urs Kolly, Benedikt Sturny trains with TSV Düdingen but is far less well known - which deserves further explanation. Benedikt is a runner's attendant. He runs beside blind athletes, allowing them to compete in sports. This requires a trusting relationship. Runner's attendants are not included in the winner's roster. They aren't even looking for that, since they consider it their job to help the athlete. In the ideal case, they need to have a larger amount of reserve energy since they cannot run at their own speed; they need to adapt to the pace that is best for the blind athlete. Since runner's attendants are forgotten heroes at the Paralympics, I decided to mention Benedikt as one of their representatives in an attempt to rectify this situation.

At the Paralympics Walter Grubenmann is not in demand at the starting line, but in the Otto Bock workshop. But not only there. This morning I attended an excursion to the Great Wall of China with the late shift, a decision I felt was justified since I am also pulling something like a late shift. I believe just about everyone is familiar with the breathtaking scenery from photos. What surprised me is how steep some sections of this 6,000 kilometer long structure are, which is said to be visible on the surface of the earth as seen from the moon. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find anyone to confirm this assertion. So let us assume it is true. If not, at least it is an inventive story.

Out of the 6,000 kilometers, we became intimately familiar with perhaps 8 or 9 grueling ones today. Since Walter covered this distance with a C-Leg, he has certainly earned the right to be counted among the athletic people. "I never found it as valuable as I did today," he said on the way back. Some sections are so steep that people who are afraid of heights - people like me - try to avoid looking too far ahead. Just take it one step at a time...

Since we are among prosthetists, it is only natural that the question regarding the battery capacity of the C-Leg was raised in advance. After all, one of the many advantages of the microprocessor-controlled system during everyday use is that it works in a similar fashion as a knee joint with friction brake should the power supply fail. You would have to ask the technicians for a more detailed explanation. In any case, having to make do without the dynamic features of the C-Leg while hiking on the Great Wall of China - anything but an everyday activity - would be quite problematic. But Walter is more than just a fan of the C-Leg, he is also a prosthetist and did of course check the battery capacity.

One of the team members took a video as our Swiss native descended the stairs. It really is something to see. Maybe we can get it posted on the Beijing homepage.

So now the score is 27:26 for Germany against the Netherlands. This bit of news was brought to me by Gunter, who just arrived at the hall. "It's going to be close," so he says. I believe it will be a clear victory. And hereby say farewell until tomorrow.