Laura de Vaan (born 11 August 1980 in

Uden Uden () is a town and former municipality in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. Since 2022 it has been part of the new municipality of Maashorst. History Uden was first recorded around 1190 as "Uthen". However, earlier settlements h ...

) is a Dutch Paralympian who competes in handcycle events. de Vaan has appeared in two Summer Paralympics, 1998 in Beijing and 2012 in London. In the London Games she won silver in the H4 women's road race and Bronze in the H4 time trial.

Personal history

De Vaan was born in Uden in 1980. She was educated at Heythuysen High School and in 1998 matriculated to

Nijmegen University Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...

where she studied Dutch Language and Literature. In 1996, she was left requiring a wheelchair after missing the last step of a flight of stairs. It was only after her accident that she was diagnosed with

Complex regional pain syndrome Complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) is any of several painful conditions that are characterized by a continuing (spontaneous and/or evoked) regional pain that is seemingly disproportionate in time or degree to the usual course of any known trau ...

and although she has some mobility in her legs.

Cycling career

De Vaan took to Handbiking in 2004, and in 2005 entered her first competitive race in the Open European Championship where she took bronze in both the Road Race and the Time Trial. Her results at the 2007 World Championships saw her qualify for the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing. There she competed in both the Women's Individual Road Race and the Cycling Road Women's Individual Time Trial. She came fifth in the Road Race and seventh in the Time Trial. De Vaan stated that the experience of competing in Beijing increased her desire to focus on the sport and she set herself a goal of winning medals at the London Paralympic Games in 2012. After finishing in the top three without a victory, de Vaan won the H3 Road Race at the Road World Championships in September 2011. In the

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

de Vaan took medals in both the Time Trial and Road Race. She won the bronze in the Time Trial and a photo finish in the Road Race gave her silver over long time rival Dorothee Vieth of Germany.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vaan, Laura De 1980 births Living people Paralympic cyclists of the Netherlands Dutch female cyclists Paralympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Cyclists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Cyclists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics People from Uden Cyclists from North Brabant Paralympic medalists in cycling