Elena Krawzow (born 26 October 1993) is a blind German

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

who specializes in

breaststroke Breaststroke is a swimming style in which the swimmer is on their chest and the torso does not rotate. It is the most popular recreational style due to the swimmer's head being out of the water a large portion of the time, and that it can be s ...

and

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

. She has

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

, leaving her with only 3% vision.

Early life and career

Born in Mergen, a village in southern Kazakhstan, Elena Krawzow emigrated with her German-Kazakhstani family, moving to Russia, where she was diagnosed with macular degeneration. Whilst in Russia, Krawzow attend a boarding school for disabled children, before resettling in Germany aged 11. Krawzow won a silver medal in the 100m breaststroke - SB13 at the 2012 London Paralympics before finishing fifth in the same event at

Rio 2016 The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

.; she went on to win the gold medal in the same category at

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Personal life

In October 2020 Krawzow appeared topless on the front cover of the German edition of ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

''. She got engaged to her boyfriend Phillip in the aftermath of Tokyo 2020. In 2021 she was diagnosed with a malignant

brain tumour A brain tumor occurs when abnormal cells form within the brain. There are two main types of tumors: malignant tumors and benign (non-cancerous) tumors. These can be further classified as primary tumors, which start within the brain, and secondary ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Krawzow, Elena 1993 births Living people German female medley swimmers German female breaststroke swimmers German female freestyle swimmers Paralympic swimmers for Germany Paralympic gold medalists for Germany Paralympic silver medalists for Germany Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships Swimmers from Berlin S12-classified para swimmers German people of Kazakhstani descent Playboy people