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.

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.

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.