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Paralympics’ Repair Shop Addresses Athletes’ Equipment Needs

RIO DE JANEIRO — Saws buzzed, drills rattled and sewing machines hummed as Victor Scody, a swimmer from Mauritius, wandered into the Paralympic repair workshop Tuesday morning with a problem — or rather, problems.

The socket of his artificial leg needed an adjustment. It felt too loose in one area, too tight in another, and he felt too tall over all. The imbalance was hurting Scody’s back.

Examining the prosthesis, Julian Napp, a technician, sounded hopeful.

“Maybe we can change something,” Napp said. “Maybe.”

When athletes arrive at the Paralympic Village here, they care most about three things: internet access, food and the location of the repair shop, which the German company Ottobock has operated at every Paralympics since 1988.