Johanna Benson (born 17 February 1990) 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

Walvis Bay Walvis Bay ( en, lit. Whale Bay; af, Walvisbaai; ger, Walfischbucht or Walfischbai) is a city in Namibia and the name of the bay on which it lies. It is the second largest city in Namibia and the largest coastal city in the country. The c ...

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

. She competes in T37

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 ...

and sprint events and 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 ...

in London she won the women's 200 metres race in her classification. Her 200 metres success in London made her the first Paralympic gold medalist in Namibia's history.

Personal history

Benson was born in

South West Africa South West Africa ( af, Suidwes-Afrika; german: Südwestafrika; nl, Zuidwest-Afrika) was a territory under South African administration from 1915 to 1990, after which it became modern-day Namibia. It bordered Angola (Portuguese colony before 1 ...

(now

) in 1990. At the age of five months it was noticed that the left side of her body was not developing as expected and she was diagnosed with

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 sensa ...

. She was educated locally in Walvis Bay, attending the public primary and secondary schools.

Athletics career

Benson came from a sporting family, with her mother being an athlete before her, and her uncle playing for the Namibia national football team. From a young age she enjoyed running and her talent was spotted when she attended Kuisebmond Secondary School. Classified as a T37 competitor, for athletes with cerebral palsy, Benson's first major international event came in 2010 when she represented her country at the Commonwealth Games in Delhi. In Delhi she entered the women's 100 metres (T37), and her time of 14.81 saw her finish third to claim the bronze medal. The next year she travelled to Christchurch in New Zealand to compete at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

, but she was unable to find the same form as in India, and she failed to qualify through to the finals in both the 100 and 200 metre sprints. Benson's crowning achievement's as an athlete came at the

in London. Entering the team as

's only female athlete, the 22 years old Benson won a gold medal in the Women's 200m T37 race, ahead of

Oksana Krechunyak Oksana Krechunyak ( uk, Оксана Кречуняк; born 25 April 1981) is a Paralympian athlete from Ukraine competing mainly in category T37 sprint events. Oksana has twice competed in the Paralympics, in 2004 and 2008 File:2008 Event ...

of Ukraine. Later in the Games Benson won silver in the Women's 100m T37. On her arrival back home she was given N$170 000 in cash for the medals, a house in Walvis Bay, and a diplomatic passport by the

Government of Namibia The government of Namibia consists of the executive, the legislative and the judiciary branches. The Cabinet is the executive organ of government, implementing the laws of the country. It consists of the president, the prime minister and his dep ...

. She further received money from private individuals, institutions, and organisations. Furthermore, she was given an offer for free trainings and physiotherapy for the next four years from an agency in her home town. Benson's achievements in London made her the first athlete from Namibia to win a Paralympic gold medal, and the first competitor to win gold across either Olympic or Paralympic Games. Namibia's

Frankie Fredericks Frank "Frankie" Fredericks (born 2 October 1967) is a former track and field athlete from Namibia. Running in the 100 metres and 200 metres, he won four silver medals at the Olympic Games (two in 1992 and two in 1996), making him Namibia's only ...

won several silver medals in 1992 and 1996. Benson followed her Paralympic success with medals at World Championship level. 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, ...

in Lyon she won two bronze medals, in the 100 and 200 metre races. A year later she competed at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Although her sprint events were no longer part of the programme, the T37/38 long jump was introduced. In the long jump Benson managed a personal best distance of 3.82 metres to take the bronze medal, her only major international medal in this event. In the buildup to the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

in Rio de Janeiro, Benson took part in two further international competitions. At the

2015 African Games The 11th African Games took place from September 4–19, 2015 in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo. This edition marked the 50th anniversary of the Games, as well as their return to Brazzaville, which hosted the first edition in 1965. Host aw ...

in Brazzaville, she won gold in the T37, 100 metre sprint, though in a weak field. She also collected a third World Championship medal by winning a bronze at the 2015 Championships in Doha in the 200 metres (T37). At Rio Benson was given the honour of being her country's

flag bearer A standard-bearer, also known as a flag-bearer is a person (soldier or civilian) who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as a f ...

during the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

. With Benson's favourite event, the 200 metres, withdrawn from the schedule, she entered the 100 metre and 400 metre sprint, and the

. Despite qualifying through to the finals in both races, she finished at the back of the field in both events. Her time of 14.16 in the 100 metre sprint was actually faster than her silver medal time from London, but the strength of the field had moved on significantly in the past four years and Benson finished in seventh place.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Benson, Johanna Paralympic athletes for Namibia Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for Namibia Paralympic gold medalists for Namibia Sportspeople from Walvis Bay Living people 1990 births Commonwealth Games bronze medallists for Namibia Athletes (track and field) at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2014 Commonwealth Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Namibian female sprinters Commonwealth Games medallists in athletics African Games gold medalists for Namibia African Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 African Games Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Medallists at the 2010 Commonwealth Games Medallists at the 2014 Commonwealth Games