While we celebrate these anniversaries we also mark two sadder events that have occurred within the lgbt Paralympic movement in the past year. Belgian Paralympian Marieke Vervoort passed way in October and US Paralympian Angela Madsen passed away in June.
There are many tributes to Marieke and Angela online. Many of them dwell on circumstances of their deaths. Their achievements in sport have, more often than not, only been mentioned briefly, yet without their athletic achievements they would not have received any attention in the media at all.
I want to redress the balance. Whilst I recognise the physical, mental and cultural hardships experienced to overcome their disabilities I want to celebrate what made them an inspiration to other people with and without a disability. I have compiled tables for Marieke Vervoort and Angela Madsen listing their medals and awards. Both athletes also competed in many more events and competitions where they did not finish in the top three. Today I present Marieke Vervoort’s medals and awards.
Note on Paralympic categories:
T52 – (track athletics) Good shoulder and upper body control but little or no trunk or leg function. Lacking in fine motor skills in arms and hands. Damage to spinal cord.
Unless otherwise stated the athlete competed in the female or mixed gender category in an event.
Marieke Vervoort’s badge as Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown is placed beside her portrait on her coffin. |
Event/Award
|
Location/date
|
Medal/award/title
|
International
Triathlon Union (ITU) Triathlon World Championships
|
September 2006, Lausanne, Switzerland
|
Gold & world champion, AWAD
(Athlete With A Disability) Women Handcycle
|
ITU
Triathlon World Championships
|
August 2007, Hamburg, Germany
|
Gold & world champion,
paratriathlon, TRI-1
|
Paralympic
Games
|
September 2012, London, UK
|
Gold, 100m T52
|
Silver, 200m T52
|
||
Gala
du Sport 2012
(annual event celebrating the best of
Belgian sport)
|
16 December 2012
|
Paralympian of the Year
|
World
records (still stand)
|
July 2013, Kortrijk, Belgium
|
400m T52
|
May 2013, Oordegem, Belgium
|
800m T52
|
|
European
record (still stands)
|
July 2013, Oordegem, Belgium
|
200m T52
|
Order
of the Crown
(Belgian order of chivalry awarded by
the King)
|
26 Nov 2013
|
Appointed Grand Officer of the Order
(equivalent to Dame)
|
IPC
Athletics Grand Prix
(Swiss Open National Championships)
|
May 2014, Nottwil, Switzerland
|
Gold, 100m T52
|
Gold, 200m T52
|
||
Gold, 400m T52
|
||
Gold and European record, 800m T52
|
||
Gold and world record, 1500m T52
|
||
Gold and world record, 5000m T52
|
||
Trophy
Victor Boin
(Named after Victor Boin,
Belgian Olympian, given as a
lifetime achievement award to Belgian ParaAthletes)
|
22 Jan 2015
|
Trophy Victor Boin laureate for 2014
|
IPC
Athletics World Championships
|
October 2015, Doha, Qatar
|
Gold, 100m T52
|
Gold, 200m T52
|
||
Gold, 400m T52
|
||
Gala
du Sport 2015
|
20 Dec 2015
|
Paralympian of the Year
|
Lifetime Achievement Award
|
||
IPC
Athletics Grand Prix
|
May 2016,
Nottwil, Switzerland
|
Gold, 100m T52
|
Gold, 200m T52
|
||
Gold, 400m T52
|
||
Gold, 1500m T52
|
||
Ereteken
van de Vlaamse Gemeesschap
(Decoration of the Flemish Community,
an order of merit awarded annually by the regional government to
distinguished Flemish nationals)
|
11 July 2016
|
Decoration
|
Paralympic
Games
|
September 2016, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
|
Silver, 400m T52
|
Bronze, 100m T52
|
On
6th September, on what would have been the last day of the Paralympics, I’ll
present the table of the medals and awards of Angela Madsen.
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