Even with the dirt of the road still streaked across her face, there was no dimming of the blazing joy in Catherine Debrunner’s eyes as she stopped in the media zone on a baking day in London.
 
She had just obliterated the course record at the TCS London Marathon to make it two wins and one second place in the first three Abbott World Marathon Majors of the year.
 
All in a couple of months’ work for the reigning AbbottWMM series champion who continues to ride the crest of a wave she caught in the summer of 2024.
 
Having scooped her first series in 2023, Debrunner measured her efforts in the marathon in 2024. She knew the grueling schedule that awaited her in the Parisian heat of last summer’s Paralympics.

And how she judged that right.

Five golds and a silver made her the most successful athlete of the Games and powered her to a second straight AbbottWMM crown.
 
Now she has set herself up beautifully to make it three in a row. And her devastatingly quick time in London has shown her opponents that she is intent on keeping that series title.
 
“It feels unreal,” she said after her London win. “I had never expected to be so quick in London, but I was in a really good shape. It felt amazing. I got in a really good rhythm and I had good men's group ahead of me, which pushed me really well.”
 
So well that she was sprinting against that bunch of men down The Mall. Some performance just six days after competing in Boston. The fast turnaround was a new challenge for the 30-year-old.
 
“I'm really proud how I managed it,” she reflected. “I knew that it was going to be a key of resting as much as possible in between, so I really focused on it. And yeah, I did not expect to be that fast in London. I think I definitely learned a lot from those two marathons in only one week. And I'm really grateful for this experience, and I'm also really grateful for the amazing environment I can count on.”
 
She refers to her training base in the Netherlands. It seems unusual for a Swiss athlete with the incredible facilities of Nottwil, nestled in the Swiss mountains, that have produced serial winners like Marcel Hug and Manuela Schär, at her disposal to have set up camp elsewhere, but with coach Arno Mul in the Netherlands, she has found a home that suits her perfectly.
 
“I think it's one of the biggest keys to my success,” she says. “I feel really confident and happy in the Netherlands to train there, and I have a great coach. Also, my gym coach is really good. They know me really well. They work well together.
 
“They push me to my limits. And we have an amazing group of athletes from all over the world, from women, men, youngsters, a little older, and it's a really great mix. I really love it. I'm a team person, and it really gives me extra motivation.”
 
If 2024 was a tough calendar, 2025 will not be much different with the world track championships to take on in India, but Debrunner is sure she will be back on the Majors roads later in the season.

Since the introduction of the wheelchair series in 2016, the sport has grown immeasurably, with equal series prize money now awarded to both open and wheelchair divisions for the series and a burgeoning prize pool in the individual races.
 
“We get treated as athletes, like Olympic athletes,” says Debrunner.
 
“It's really equal, and I think that's what we strive for. And of course, it's also a question of money. Thanks to the marathon, we can actually live from our sport, and it gives us visibility and recognition. And I really think it helps so much to actually bring our sport closer to the people and also to represent our sponsors. And besides that, of course, I just love doing marathons! It challenges me every day.”