Christa Welger

Christa Zander Welger (June 1939 – May 30, 2019) was a German-born wheelchair athlete. She represented West Germany and later the United States in various international events.

Christa Welger

Christa Welger, from a 1962 publication
Personal information
Birth name	Christa E. Zander
Born	June 1939 (1939-06) Berlin
Died	May 30, 2019 (2019-05-31) (aged 79) New Jersey
Occupation	Athlete
Years active	1958-1963
Spouse	Saul Welger ​ ​ (m. 1962; died 2002)​
Sport
Country	United States West Germany
Sport	Para athletics Para archery Para swimming Para table tennis
Medal record Stoke Mandeville Games Representing West Germany Athletics 1958 Stoke Mandeville Club Throw 1961 Stoke Mandeville Javelin 1961 Stoke Mandeville Shot Put 1961 Stoke Mandeville Javelin 1962 Stoke Mandeville Club Throw 1962 Stoke Mandeville Shot Put 1962 Stoke Mandeville Javelin 1962 Stoke Mandeville Discus Swimming 1958 Stoke Mandeville 40m Crawl 1958 Stoke Mandeville 40m Breaststroke 1958 Stoke Mandeville 40m Backstroke 1959 Stoke Mandeville 40m Backstroke 1959 Stoke Mandeville 40m Crawl 1959 Stoke Mandeville 40m Breaststroke 1961 Stoke Mandeville 50m Backstroke 1961 Stoke Mandeville 50m Breaststroke 1961 Stoke Mandeville 50m Crawl 1962 Stoke Mandeville 50m Backstroke 1962 Stoke Mandeville 50m Crawl 1962 Stoke Mandeville 50m Breaststroke Table tennis 1958 Stoke Mandeville Doubles Paralympic Games Representing West Germany Athletics 1960 Rome Shot Put 1960 Rome Javelin 1960 Rome Club Throw Archery 1960 Rome Archery Swimming 1960 Rome 50m Crawl 1960 Rome 50m Backstroke 1960 Rome 50m Breaststroke Table tennis 1960 Rome Doubles Representing United States Athletics 1964 Tokyo Club Throw 1964 Tokyo Javelin 1964 Tokyo Wheelchair Dash Swimming 1964 Tokyo 50m Backstroke 1964 Tokyo 50m Breaststroke 1964 Tokyo 50m Freestyle

Early life

Christa Zander was raised in Berlin during World War II, and then in West Berlin after the city was partitioned. She was paralyzed by polio at a young age, and developed physical strength in sports, including swimming and field events.

Career

As a young woman, Zander belonged to the Handicapped Sports League of Berlin, and worked in a factory. She represented West Germany at the 1958 and 1959 Stoke Mandeville Games. She won eight medals at the 1960 Summer Paralympic Games in Rome. As Christa Welger, she represented the United States as a swimmer and field athlete at the Stoke Mandeville Games in 1962, and at 1964 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, where she won a gold medal and three silver medals. She also competed at the National Wheelchair Games in 1963. She was inducted into the Adaptive Sports USA Hall of Fame in 1986.

Personal life and legacy

Zander married American accountant and wheelchair athlete Saul Welger in 1962, and moved to New York to live with him. They had two children, born in 1966 and 1970. She was widowed when Saul died in 2002; she died in 2019. After her death, the Christa & Saul Welger Foundation was established, to continue their work in supporting sports opportunities for physically disabled youth.