Danielle Aitchison (born 16 August 2001) is a New Zealand para-athlete who is representing her country at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She competes in the

100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and

200 metres The 200 metres, or 200-meter dash, is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 metre racetrack, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques is needed to successfully run the race. A slightl ...

in international events.

Biography

Aitchison was born in

Morrinsville Morrinsville is a provincial town in the Waikato region of New Zealand's North Island, with an estimated population of as of The town is located at the northern base of the Pakaroa Range, and on the south-western fringe of the Hauraki Plains ...

in 2001 and grew up in Patetonga in the

Hauraki District Hauraki District is a territorial authority within the Hauraki region of New Zealand. The seat of the council is at Paeroa. The area covered by the district extends from the southwest coast of the Firth of Thames southeast towards Te Aroha, alt ...

. She attended Kaihere School. Aitchison was born with severe jaundice,

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, stiff muscles, weak muscles, and tremors. There may be problems with sens ...

and 80-90% hearing loss. She has two uncommon types of cerebral palsy:

athetoid Athetosis is a symptom characterized by slow, involuntary, convoluted, writhing movements of the fingers, hands, toes, and feet and in some cases, arms, legs, neck and tongue. Movements typical of athetosis are sometimes called ''athetoid'' moveme ...

and

ataxia Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that can include gait abnormality, speech changes, and abnormalities in eye movements. Ataxia is a clinical manifestation indicating dysfunction of ...

. She has

cochlear implants A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for improved speech unde ...

in both ears. While growing up Aitchison participated in ballet, netball and hockey. She began competing in para-athletics at age 16 in 2017, at the Halberg Junior Disability Games in Auckland, New Zealand. She has competed in long jump and won a national title in the event. In 2019 she represented New Zealand internationally for the first time at the

2019 World Para Athletics Championships The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field event organised by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 7 to 15 November 20 ...

in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. She finished fourth in the 100m event and won silver in the 200m event with an Oceania record time (29.86sec). Competing at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the women's 200 metres T36, Aitchison finished fastest in her heat. In the final, Aitchison won silver with a time of 29.88. She also won bronze in the women's 100 metres T36.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aitchinson, Danielle 2001 births Living people People from Morrinsville New Zealand female sprinters Paralympic athletes of New Zealand Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic silver medalists for New Zealand Paralympic bronze medalists for New Zealand Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Sportspeople from Waikato