Niko Kappel

Niko Kappel is a German Paralympic athlete of short stature. He represented Germany at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and he won the gold medal in the Athletics at the 2016 Summer Paralympics – Men's [shot put|men's shot put F41] event. He also represented Germany at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan and he won the bronze medal in the men's shot put F41 event.

Career

At the 2015 World Championships held in Doha, Qatar, he won the silver medal in the men's shot put F41 event. He also won the silver medal in the men's shot put F40/F41 event at the 2016 European Championships. At the 2017 World Championships he won the gold medal in the men's shot put F41 event and he won the silver medal in the men's shot put F41 event at the 2018 European Championships.
In 2016 and 2017, Kappel won the German Sportspersonality of the Year award in his category.
He won the bronze medal in his event at the 2021 European Championships held in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
At the "Jump & Fly"-Meeting in Hechingen in May 2024, Kappel set the world record for shot put F41 with a distance of 15.07 meters, also making him the first shot put F41 athlete to surpass the 15.00 meter mark.
Kappel competed in the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games and won the silver medal in the men's shot put F41 event.