Friday 28 August 2020

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.

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