Finding the positives

Wheelchair athlete Heinz Frei ( Yves Bachmann / ETH Zurich) - Heinz Frei is one of the most successful Swiss athletes of all time. He has been in a wheelchair since an accident over 40 years ago. Having originally trained as a surveyor, he now works at the Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Nottwil and serves as a Cybathlon Ambassador. You might think someone who has spent 40 years in a wheelchair might be bowed by adversity, but not Heinz Frei. His optimism is undiminished, and his mental strength and extraordinary willpower have allowed him to achieve goals he hardly dared dream of. "If I'd spent too long wallowing in self-pity after the accident, then I wouldn't be where I am today," says Frei. Obviously life hasn't always been a bed of roses, and it still hurts when he recalls all the emotions he has unloaded on loved ones in difficult periods, especially during the five months of re­habilitation at the former Swiss Paraplegic Centre in Basel.