Kenny van Weeghel (born 16 September 1980 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a city and municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of Overijssel and the province's second-largest municipality after Enschede with a population of 130,592 as of 1 December 2021. Zwolle is o ...

) is a

Paralympic 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 from the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

competing in the 100, 200 and 400 m T54 class

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...

. He participated in the

Paralympic games 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 ...

six times already and he has won 6 Paralympic medals among which two golden ones.

Athletics career

Weeghel won the 200m at the European Championships in 2001. This was his first main title and there were many to come. In 2002 he became World Champion by winning the 100m and a year later he won both the 100m and 200m during the World Championships. At the European Championships that same year (2003) he won the 200m and 400m. At the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, he won his first three Paralympic medals: bronze on the 100m, silver on the 200m and gold on the 400m. He was elected Dutch handicapped sportsman of the year. In 2005 the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships (until 2019 known as the World Championships in Athletics) are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics (formerly IAAF, International Association of Athletics Federations). Alongside the Ol ...

were held in

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

and T54

was added to the program as an exhibition event. In both the 100m and 200m he won the silver medal behind

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

athlete David Weir. In 2006, in

Assen Assen () is a municipality and a city in the northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in the Netherlands, city rights in 1809. Assen is known for TT Circuit Assen, the ...

the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, he became once more World Champion 200m, while taking second place (by a mere 0.01 s) on the 100 m behind David Weir.sax.nu Goud voor Kenny van Weeghel op WK
/ref> Van Weeghel won a silver medal at the

Paralympic Games 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 ...

in 2012 in London (400m) and won two Paralympic medals at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic games in 2016; gold for the 400m and bronze for the 100m.

Personal records

Awards

* Order of the Lion of the Netherlands - 2004 * National disabled sportsman of the year - 2004 * Atletiekunie Paralympic athlete of the year - 2014 *

Honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the province of Brabant - 2017

References

External links

*
World ranking and athlete information
from

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation The International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) is an international sports organisation that governs sports for athletes with physical impairments. IWAS is a registered charity with its headquarters located at Aylesbury Colleg ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weeghel, Kenny van 1980 births Living people Dutch male wheelchair racers Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic athletes of the Netherlands Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Sportspeople from Zwolle Paralympic wheelchair racers Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)