Paralympic Tribute: 1

The Tokyo Paralympic Games would have started on Tuesday. This year is the 60th anniversary of the modern Paralympic Games. The first were held in September 1960 in Rome a week after the closing of the Rome Olympics. They were originally called the Stoke Mandeville Games after the town in England where the games originated in 1948 (hence the London 2012 Paralympic mascot was called Mandeville). In 1959 the International Olympic Committee awarded the Stoke Mandeville games their Fearnley Cup, given in recognition of their “Outstanding Contribution to Olympic Ideals”. Rome 1960 was the first time the Stoke Mandeville Games were held in an Olympic city. At the games in 1964 in Tokyo the term Paralympic was first used, making it doubly significant for the 60th anniversary of the Paralympics to be held in Tokyo this year. Maybe the significance will be marked next year.

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.