The first Cybathlon pushed the limits of bionic technology

Andre van Rüschen slowly climbed a five-step ramp at the end of his race. With a black processor strapped to his back and leg supports on either side of his lower limbs, he stayed focused on the body-machine coordination that was keeping him upr...

A bike accident left him paralyzed; electricity let him ride again

During a prerun of the Baja 1000, one of the world's most treacherous off-road races, Michael McClellan rode his dirt bike out to the front. He traversed the rough terrain of Mexico's northwest peninsula, eventually coming up hard on a washed-up brea...

Human and machine become one for birth of the Cybathlon

On a bright Tuesday morning, about six miles north of Zürich, an ice-hockey team skates onto a rink for a practice round. Each player, dressed in a white jersey and matching protective gear, slides a puck in the direction of a heavily padded goa...

Superhumans: Inside the world’s first cyborg games

Thousands of miles from the drama of the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, one man has been quietly plotting his own competition; a previously impossible event melding human and machine. His name is Robert Reiner, and next month, in Zurich...