Marc Evers (born 17 July 1991) is a Dutch

Paralympic swimmer Para swimming is an adaptation of the sport of swimming for athletes with disabilities. Para swimmers compete at the Summer Paralympic Games and at other sports competitions throughout the world. The sport is governed by the International Para ...

. He swims in S14 and SB14 classification events, specializing in both backstroke and breaststroke competitions. He is a Paralympic, World and European champion in the 100m breaststroke.

Personal history

Evers was born in

Hillegom Hillegom () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. Hillegom is part of an area called the Duin- en Bollenstreek ("Dune and Bulb Region"). As such, a large portion of the local economy was tradition ...

, Netherlands in 1991. He has

autism The autism spectrum, often referred to as just autism or in the context of a professional diagnosis autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or autism spectrum condition (ASC), is a neurodevelopmental condition (or conditions) characterized by difficulti ...

Swimming career

Evers learnt to swim at the age of four. At the age of twelve he began competitive swimming and won several national youth titles. Initially he found it difficult to find a swimming club that would coach him due to his intellectual disability. Eventually he joined ZV Haerlem, where he met trainer Wim Ten Wolde. In 2007 Evers was selected for the Netherlands national swimming team. In December 2011, at the Open Dutch Championships in Eindhoven, he qualified for 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. At London, on 31 August, he won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke setting a world record time. Six days later he took the bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke. When Evers took the gold in the backstroke he became the first athlete with an intellectual disability to win a medal since Sydney 2000.

References

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* * * 1991 births Living people Dutch male freestyle swimmers Dutch male backstroke swimmers Dutch male breaststroke swimmers Dutch male medley swimmers S14-classified para swimmers Paralympic swimmers for the Netherlands Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic medalists in swimming Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships Medalists at the World Para Swimming European Championships People from Hillegom Sportspeople with autism Sportspeople from South Holland 21st-century Dutch people {{Netherlands-Olympic-medalist-stub