Matthias Berg is a former elite athlete. Between 1980 and 1994, he was a member of the national teams in athletics – as a sprinter and jumper – and in alpine skiing. During this period, he competed in every Paralympic Games and World Championships and, with a total of 26 medals (12 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze) as well as 43 German championship titles, is one of the world’s most successful and versatile para-athletes. Today, he represents disabled sport on both national and international committees. Since the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney and up to Paris 2024, he has regularly served as the ‘ZDF expert’ and co-presenter for television broadcasts of the Paralympics.

He studied music and law simultaneously, and started playing the horn at the age of just 7. He has since been decorated numerous times in both national and international competitions, and has performed across the globe with a variety of orchestras and ensembles. His solo CDs (one with horn and piano, and a Christmas album with horn and guitar) are available to buy from most well-stocked music stores.

As a lawyer, he held various posts within the Baden-Württemberg state administration. At the State Ministry, he served as project manager from 2001 to 2003, overseeing the development of a leadership development strategy for the entire state administration (comprising around 230,000 staff). From 2003 to 2015, he was Deputy District Administrator and Chief County Officer in the Esslingen district. There, he also headed the Department for the Environment and Technology, which had around 400 staff. In the spring of 2015, he had to give up this role at the District Office due to an eye condition. He is also disabled by Thalidomide.

For more than 33 years, he has regularly visited schools to talk with pupils about sport and music, living with a disability, overcoming personal challenges and barriers, understanding what fairness and equality mean in day-to-day terms, and finding a place in life.

Matthias Berg has received numerous awards for his professional and voluntary work. As early as 1981, he was awarded the “Silver Medal for Disabled Sport”, presented by the Federal President. He has been honoured seven times with the “Honorary Award of the State of Baden-Württemberg” for his sporting achievements. This was followed in 1989 by the “Citizen’s Medal” from the town of Trossingen for achievements in music and sport. In the same year, he was named “Sportsman of the Year 1989” by the University of Freiburg. In 2011, he received the “Paralympic Order” from the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), the IPC’s highest honour for voluntary work on various committees. In 2012 and 2016, the ZDF Paralympic Team, together with him, was presented with the “German Paralympic Media Award”. And in 2022, this team was nominated for the “German Television Award”.