Helgi Sveinsson (born 11 June 1979) is a

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

from

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

competing in throwing, sprint and jumping events. He is a F42/T42 category athlete. At the

2013 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships was the biggest track and field competition for athletes with a disability since the 2012 Summer Paralympics. It was held in Lyon, France, and lasted from 20 to 28 July. Around 1,100 athletes competed, ...

he threw a competition record to take the gold medal.

Sport career

Sveinsson was born in

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

in 1979. A keen sportsman, he played

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball or Olympic handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of throwing it into the g ...

at a semi-professional level for several Icelandic clubs. His sporting career was halted when he was diagnosed with bone cancer. At the age of 20, in an attempt to combat the disease his left leg was amputated above the knee. In 2010 he was introduced to Paralympic sport, and in 2011 took on a coach. His natural athletic ability allowed Sveinsson to compete in multiple fields, competing in the

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

, sprint and

javelin throw The javelin throw is a track and field event where the javelin, a spear about in length, is thrown. The javelin thrower gains momentum by running within a predetermined area. Javelin throwing is an event of both the men's decathlon and the ...

. In his first international competition, the 2012 IPC European Championships in the Netherlands, he took silver in the javelin. At the same Championships he also finished third in the 200m, but did not medal due to the low level of athletes competing in the event. In 2012 Sveinsson was one of four competitors to represent Iceland at the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

. Sveinsson qualified in all three of his fields, and competed in the javelin, long jump and 100m sprint. He was also given the honour of being flag bearer for his country at the opening ceremony. In the long jump he was entered into the F42–44 category, but his first round best of 4.25m was not good enough to see him progress through to the final rounds. In the 100m T42 heats, Sveinsson recorded a time of 15.64s, a time way below his personal best and finished in 5th place, failing to qualify for the final round. In the F42 javelin, he threw a personal best of 47.61m in the opening round to progress to the final eight. He failed to better his early throw and finished fifth, just over a metre outside the medal positions. After the 2012 Paralympics Sveinsson was reselected for Iceland when he made the squad for the

held in Lyon, France. At the World Championships, he only entered the

and was faced with a strong field including Paralympic medalists Fu Yanlong of China and

Runar Steinstad Runar Steinstad (born 4 June 1967) is a Paralympian athlete from Norway competing mainly in F42 classification throwing events. Athletics history Steinstad first represented Norway at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, entering the long jum ...

of Norway. Sveinsson threw a distance of 50.9m, a new Championship record, to win the gold medal.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sveinsson, Helgi 1979 births Helgi Sveinsson Helgi Sveinsson Helgi Sveinsson Living people Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Helgi Sveinsson Long jumpers with limb difference Javelin throwers with limb difference Paralympic long jumpers Paralympic javelin throwers