Marieke Vervoort (10 May 1979 – 22 October 2019) was a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...

Paralympic athlete The Paralympic sports comprise all the sports contested in the Summer and Winter Paralympic Games. As of 2020, the Summer Paralympics included 22 sports and 539 medal events, and the Winter Paralympics include 5 sports and disciplines and about ...

with reflex sympathetic dystrophy. She won several medals at the Paralympics, and she received worldwide attention in 2016 when she revealed that she was considering

euthanasia Euthanasia (from el, εὐθανασία 'good death': εὖ, ''eu'' 'well, good' + θάνατος, ''thanatos'' 'death') is the practice of intentionally ending life to eliminate pain and suffering. Different countries have different eut ...

Career

Vervoort began her career in sports playing wheelchair basketball, then took up swimming, and competed in triathlons. She was paratriathlon world champion in 2006 and 2007, and in 2007, competed in the

Ironman Triathlon An Ironman Triathlon is one of a series of long-distance triathlon races organized by the World Triathlon Corporation (WTC), consisting of a swim, a bicycle ride and a marathon run completed in that order, a total of . It is widely consider ...

in Hawaii. She retired from triathlons when her condition became worse. Instead, she started

blokart The Blokart is a popular one-design class of small compact land yacht, manufactured by the New Zealand-based company Blokart International Ltd. They can be quickly disassembled and packed into a carry-bag giving them a high degree of portability ...

ing and then wheelchair racing. In the 2012 London Paralympic Games, she won the gold medal in the T52 100m

wheelchair race 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 ...

, and the silver medal in the T52 200m wheelchair race. In 2013, she set a new European record of 33.65 in the T52 200m race at

Oordegem Lede () is a municipality in the Belgian province of East Flanders, in the Denderstreek near the cities of Ghent, Aalst and Dendermonde. In 2011, Lede had a population of 17,882 and area of 29.69 km², a population density of 575 inhabitan ...

, Belgium. She also set world records in the T52 400m at

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...

, Belgium, and the T52 800m at Oordegem in 2013. The same year, while competing at the

IPC Athletics World Championships The World Para Athletics Championships, known as the IPC Athletics World Championships prior to 2017, are a biennial Paralympic athletics event organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). It ...

at Lyon, France, Vervoort fell during the 800m race after a collision with

Michelle Stilwell Michelle Stilwell (''nee'' Bauknecht; born July 4, 1974) is a Canadian wheelchair racer and politician. She is the only female Paralympic athlete to win gold medals in two separate summer sport events. Stilwell was elected to the Legislative A ...

of Canada. She injured her shoulder, requiring surgery and ten months of rehabilitation. Her next competition was in 2014, at the ParAthletics IPC Athletics Grand Prix held at

Nottwil Nottwil is a municipality in the district of Sursee in the canton of Lucerne in Switzerland. History Nottwil is first mentioned around 1217-22 as ''Nottewile''. In 1275 it was mentioned as ''Otewile''. Nottwil is also the location where th ...

, Switzerland, where she won the 200m, as well as the 1,500m and 5,000m, in both of which she set new world records. Later that same year, she suffered another setback. While making pasta, she lost consciousness, accidentally poured hot water over herself and sustained second-degree and third-degree burn wounds from the chest down to her ankles. At the 2015

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the coun ...

, she won gold medals in the T52 100m, 200m and 400m races, and became world champion. She covered 200 meters in 35.91, which was two seconds slower than her European record, prior to her accident. At the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Paralympic Games, she won the silver medal in the T51/52 400m wheelchair race and bronze in the T51/52 100m.Marieke Vervoort: Paralympian ends life through euthanasia at age of 40
, ''BBC Sport'', 22 October 2019.

Personal life

Vervoort began experiencing symptoms at the age of 14 of what would later be diagnosed as reflex sympathetic dystrophy: an incurable

degenerative disease Degenerative disease is the result of a continuous process based on degenerative cell changes, affecting tissues or organs, which will increasingly deteriorate over time. In neurodegenerative diseases, cells of the central nervous system stop wor ...

of the muscles and spine, which caused severe pain, paralysis in her legs, and made it very difficult for her to sleep. Despite her sporting success, Vervoort said that she was considering

as she was preparing for the 2016 Rio Paralympics, saying that Rio was her "last wish". She clarified that this did not mean euthanasia would occur immediately after the Games, stating that: "You have to live day-by-day and enjoy the little moments. When the day comes—when I have more bad days than good days—I have my euthanasia papers. But the time is not there yet." She signed her euthanasia papers in 2008. Vervoort also had

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...

, and lived with her assistance dog, Zenn, who was able to alert her to an upcoming seizure an hour before it occurred. She died by

on 22 October 2019. Her decision was supported by other Paralympians, such as Briton

Ollie Hynd Oliver William Hynd MBE, known as Ollie, (born 27 October 1994 in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire) is a British swimmer. He competed in the Paralympics as a class 8 swimmer, having neuromuscular myopathy and associated limb deformities. In 2018, fol ...

. Vervoort was

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

Writing

Vervoort was the author of two books, ''Wielemie. Sporten voor het leven'' ("Wielemie. Sports for life") (Houtekiet, 2012), and ''De andere kant van de medaille'' ("The other side of the coin") (2017), about her degenerative muscle disease and its impact on her life.

Honors and recognition

*2012 – Belgian Paralympian of the Year *2013 – Grand Officer of the

Order of the Crown (Belgium) The Order of the Crown (french: Ordre de la Couronne, nl, Kroonorde) is a national order of the Kingdom of Belgium. The Order is one of Belgium's highest honors. History The Order was established on October 15, 1897 by King Leopold II * ...

*2014 – *2015 – Belgian Paralympian of the Year *2015 – Vlaamse Reus ()Het Laatste Nieuws
Marieke Vervoort is Vlaamse Reus 2015
*2016 – from Prime Minister

Geert Bourgeois Geert Albert Bourgeois (; born 6 July 1951) is a Belgian politician of the New Flemish Alliance (N-VA), which he founded in 2001, who is currently serving as a Member of the European Parliament since 2019. He previously served as the Minister-Pr ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Vervoort, Marieke 1979 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Belgian women 21st-century Belgian women Paralympic gold medalists for Belgium Paralympic silver medalists for Belgium Paralympic bronze medalists for Belgium Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Deaths by euthanasia Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic athletes of Belgium Belgian female athletes Belgian female wheelchair racers Place of death missing People from Diest Grand Officers of the Order of the Crown (Belgium) LGBT track and field athletes Belgium LGBT sportspeople Lesbian sportswomen People with epilepsy Lesbian writers Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Suicides in Belgium Sportspeople from Flemish Brabant