Wheelchair racing superstar Marcel Hug, aka 'The Silver Bullet': "As soon as I have the silver helmet on, there is a switch"
Marcel Hug does not need to hear the starting gun go off to transform into a racer. For him, the transformation starts as soon as he puts on his helmet.
Maybe because it's not just any helmet.
Gifted to him as a Christmas present when he was a teenager, the shiny headgear has become an enduring feature in Hug's racing career and has even earned him the nickname “The Silver Bullet”.
But off the racetrack – his helmet safely stowed away – the six-time Paralympic champion and wheelchair marathon world record holder is a different persona.
"As soon as I have the silver helmet on, there is a switch and then I switch to an athlete, very focussed and determined. But without a helmet, I am quite different. I'm more quiet," said the Swiss wheelchair racer, whose favourite activities outside of competition include going on camping trips, swimming in frosty lakes and reading philosophy books.
Olympics.com spoke to the man who has dominated wheelchair racing for more than a decade to find out how he balances record-breaking results on the road with nature retreats, and the competitive benefits of being an introvert in real life and an extrovert when in race gear.
After winning three gold medals at the 2023 Para Athletics World Championships in Paris, Marcel Hug hopes to return to Paris to win his seventh Paralympic gold.
A Christmas present that changed everything
Listing the milestones Marcel Hug has achieved since becoming 'The Silver Bullet' would take longer than the time he needs to cross a finish line: six-time Paralympic champion, 12-time world champion, world record holder in the marathon, half-marathon, 10,000m and 1,500m, as well as multiple winner of the marathon majors.
The 2023 season was especially outstanding for the Swiss athlete. He won all six marathon majors and broke three course records - in Tokyo, Boston, and Chicago.
"I'm more than happy with this season. It was a really great year, nearly perfect. Every competition I had went so well,” Hug told Olympics.com after winning a record-setting sixth career New York City Marathon in November 2023 and becoming the first man to sweep all six marathon majors in a single year.
But Hug has not always been the dynamic racer who is now smashing records across continents.
His beginnings trace, of all places, to a farm in rural Switzerland. The youngest of four brothers, Hug grew up surrounded by animals and vegetable plots.
"There are so many great memories. Growing up on a farm, it's just beautiful," he recalled. "It's a quiet place, a beautiful place. We had a dog, we had cows, chicken, so many animals. Being outside in the nature is something I really appreciated.
"We had to collect the potatoes or the apples, and so I tried to help on the farm as well as I could. And the memories, of course, also with my family, with my brothers, being together, it was very nice."
Racing came into Hug's life by chance. He joined a wheelchair sports club when he got his first daily wheelchair at the age of eight. At one point the teacher brought in an old racing wheelchair and asked if someone would like to try it.
“I said, 'Yes, of course I want to try!' because I saw wheelchair racing on TV before so I was very interested in this," Hug recalled. "I tried this chair, trained on the farm, like going on a street up and down, and in the same year there was a junior road race here in Switzerland and I participated there for my first time. It was very exciting because it was a very big competition, an international wheelchair marathon, so there were many athletes from around the world. It was very exciting for me as a young kid to be there."
A few weeks later Hug met his coach Paul Odermatt. The pair still train together 27 years later, but Odermatt has had an influence on Hug's career that stretches much further than his victories on the track.
At Christmas of 2000, Odermatt returned to Switzerland from Australia, where he was working with the national team at the Sydney Paralympic Games, with a special package in tow for the soon to be 15-year-old.
Tearing off the wrapping, there was a glint of silver as Hug first laid eyes on a helmet that would soon be recognised – and feared – at marathon races around the world.
"I still remember the moment when I got this present, unwrapped it," Hug said with a smile. "It was nice."
The Silver Bullet helmet has since gone through eight reincarnations, though always with the same dazzling shine, and his owner has become so celebrated that people often suggest that he change its colour to gold. Hug, however, remains loyal to the original hue.
"I like the colour, also because people liked it. They told me it's very good that they see me in the field during the competition. So it became my trademark," Hug said. "There are many people who tell me I should now wear a golden helmet, but I always say no because I like the silver more. A gold helmet would also mean a lot more pressure to me because then the expectations are very high to win gold if you wear also gold on the helmet. So that’s why it’s silver.”
Centre stage and speeding through the course
The silver helmet is not just a piece of equipment for the celebrated wheelchair racer. Hug said that as soon as he puts it on, he transforms from his naturally more introverted self into a fierce, extroverted competitor.
The ability to switch between the two so seamlessly has served Hug well over his Paralympic career that goes back to the Athens 2004 Games.
"As an athlete, maybe both are helpful, to be an introvert but sometimes also an extrovert," the Swiss athlete said. "Because when you are racing, you have to be confident. You are in focus. You want to show something to others. You want to show your best performance."
Embracing his extrovert persona during a race, Hug relishes the cheers of the crowds and the bustle of the metropolises around him. All these sounds help to push him forward when he comes across the difficult sections of the course - and over the length of a marathon, such spots are plenty.
"Most of the marathons looked easier than they really were. Especially the New York Marathon is one of the hardest marathon because of the climbs, many bridges, so New York was really tough," Hug said. "The other marathons sometimes were also quite hard, even when the gap looks so big to the competitors or at the finish I look not too tired. But at the end I was because in some races I tried to break the course record and so I had to go really fast.
"But I like the dynamic. I like the speed. I like the feeling of flying in the racing chair, especially when you are coming into a flow mindset. It's very nice. I like the atmosphere of racing. And, of course, I like the feeling of winning after the race and I like the community of racing."
Hug won four gold medals at Tokyo 2020, including in the men's T54 marathon.
Out of the spotlight and enjoying the wonders of nature
Fast forward three days after Hug clinched his historic victory at the New York Marathon and it would be hard to see the similarities between the athlete ripping through the ribbon at the finish line with the last powerful turns of his wheelchair wheels and the soft-spoken man giving an interview with tranquil Swiss scenery as the backdrop.
Back at home in Nottwil, a town located 20km from Lucerne with a world-class track and a population of just over 3,000, Hug looks at ease surrounded by nature.
In his free time – to be fair, there is not a lot of it – he likes to relax with friends and family, go to an occasional concert or restaurant, but mostly spend time in nature.
"It helps me to calm down, to relax. I feel connected with nature," Hug said. "It helps also to find a way of thinking that gives you some distance from racing, from being competitive. To see that there are many other things in life. Some things, they are more important than sport."
The Paralympian's routine, aside from multiple training sessions, includes weekly swims in Lake Sempach. That routine, which Hug picked up during the coronavirus lockdown, remains in force in November when the water temperature hovers around 10 degrees, and even later in the winter months.
"That's my Sunday routine when I am here at home," Hug said with a laugh. "It helps me to be connected with nature, but also to stay in the moment, in the present. It's very nice. And, of course, it's also healthy and good for our recovery."
Other, warmer, hobbies include cosying up with a good philosophy book, writing out motivational quotes, and occasionally – so far without much success – learning how to play the electric guitar.
"That is a dream I have had since many years ago. I want to learn to play guitar," Hug said. "I tried it already three times, but then stopped again because there is not enough time and not enough patience. So it's difficult, but maybe one day I will learn it, hopefully."
When he does, Silver Bullet could serve double duty as a name for a record-breaking wheelchair racer and a rock star.
"I really like it. It's unique," Hug said of his nickname. "For me, it's a really lucky situation that this became my brand. I think it's also good [to promote] the sport. It's very helpful."
An earlier version of this article was published in November 2023.