Liezel Gouws (born 1998) is a South African female Paralympic athlete and a world record holder of 800m event under T37 classification for women (2:42.39) which was set in 2015 at

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

during the national Championships. She also competed in 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 ...

. She was also part of team South Africa for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympic Games where she finished fifth in the 400m final.

Biography

Gouws was born in 1998 not as a disabled child in Klerksdorp. Gouws had to confront

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 ...

which was resulted due to a stroke she had in 2004, when she was just five years old. She sees her recovery process and abilities that she has today as miracle on miracle. There were doctors who gave her just two years to live. Currently she competed at three World Championships and two Paralympic Games for South Africa. She is also a Pharmacy student at the NWU.

Career

Liezel Gouws started to involve in Para Athletics in 2012 and went on to make her international debut in 2013. She broke the world record for the 800m event under the T37 classification in 2015. In 2016, she was awarded the Para Sportswoman of the Year. She was part of team South Africa at the 2017 and 2019 World Championships as well. She competed at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games as well.

References

External links

Profile at Paralympic.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gouws, Liezel 1998 births Living people South African female middle-distance runners Paralympic athletes for South Africa Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships 21st-century South African women