Mirjam de Koning (born Peper) (born 16 July 1969 in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
) is a Dutch
paraplegic
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
swimmer
Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...
.
[Athlete biography: Mirjam de Koning-Peper](_blank)
, beijing2008.cn, retrieved September 8, 2008
![Mirjam de Koning - Peper](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a2/Mirjam_de_Koning_-_Peper.jpg)
De Koning was born with damaged
connective tissue
Connective tissue is one of the four primary types of animal tissue, along with epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue. It develops from the mesenchyme derived from the mesoderm the middle embryonic germ layer. Connective tiss ...
. After her daughter Sarina was born in 1993, she had seven
anterior cruciate ligament
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of a pair of cruciate ligaments (the other being the posterior cruciate ligament) in the human knee. The two ligaments are also called "cruciform" ligaments, as they are arranged in a crossed formation ...
surgeries. In 1999 she suffered from a
hernia
A hernia is the abnormal exit of tissue or an organ (anatomy), organ, such as the bowel, through the wall of the cavity in which it normally resides. Various types of hernias can occur, most commonly involving the abdomen, and specifically the gr ...
and during a back-surgery and a nerve was damaged.
[Een sportief gesprek in de Nieuwe meerbode, 17 November 2005](_blank)
Zwem-Mirjam, retrieved September 8, 2008 This left her with a form of
paraplegia
Paraplegia, or paraparesis, is an impairment in motor or sensory function of the lower extremities. The word comes from Ionic Greek ()
"half-stricken". It is usually caused by spinal cord injury or a congenital condition that affects the neural ...
, hence she competes in the
S6 classification. Swimming and
wheelchair basketball
Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...
were her sports, but as wheelchair basketball caused a lot of injuries, she decided to mainly focus on swimming. She started to train five times a week with local swim team called Oceanus in
Aalsmeer
Aalsmeer () is a municipality and a town in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. Its name is derived from the Dutch for eel (''aal'') and lake (''meer''). Aalsmeer is bordered by the Westeinderplassen lake, the largest open water of ...
. Not much later she was one of the fastest swimmers at her club, being able to keep up with swimmers without a disability. That year she swam seven Dutch national records in both 25 and 50 metres pools.
In 2005, she was ready to take part in the Dutch national championships, but to participate she had to be a member of the national swimming association. Just a few days before the start she became a member and she won four gold medals, breaking all four Dutch national records as well as a European record. The national records were in the 50 m freestyle, 50 m butterfly and at the 100 m freestyle. The European record and thus fourth Dutch record she swam at the 50m backstroke.
[Kranten artikel van de amstelgids, Juli 2005](_blank)
Zwem-Mirjam, retrieved September 8, 2008 De Koning broke her first World Record at the Open Danish swimming championships in
Esbjerg
Esbjerg (, ) is a seaport town and seat of Esbjerg Municipality on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in southwest Denmark. By road, it is west of Kolding and southwest of Aarhus. With an urban population of 71,698 (1 January 2022) , March 2006. She won seven medals at the Championships, of which four golds, one silver and two bronze as well as a new World Record at the 50m backstroke in a time of 45.46 seconds. She also broke another four Dutch national records.
[Wereldrecord voor Mirjam de Koning](_blank)
Zwem-Mirjam, retrieved September 8, 2008 She then qualified for the 2006 World Championships in
Durban
Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...
,
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 ...
and she won two bronze medals. At the 100 m freestyle she swam a time of 1:22.50 and at the 100m backstroke she came to a time of 1:35.26 to take her second bronze. A few days later she became World Champion at the 50m freestyle after winning her race in 37.67 seconds to take her third medal of the Championships. At the 400m freestyle she finished in fourth place.
[17 December 2006](_blank)
Zwem-Mirjam, retrieved September 8, 2008
She represented the
Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
A total of 83 Dutch competitors took part in 13 sports. The athletes that qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympics are listed below.
Medalists
Archery
1 competitor:
;Women ...
in
Beijing
}
Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...
for a total of four events. At her first event, the 100m freestyle she won her first round heat in a time of 1:18.56, which was by far the best time of all finalists, with
Eleanor Simmonds
Eleanor May Simmonds, OBE (born 11 November 1994) is a British former Paralympian swimmer who competed in S6 events. She came to national attention when she competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, winning two gold medals for Gre ...
with 1:21.86 coming in second place.
[Beijing 2008: 100m freestyle series results](_blank)
, beijing2008.cn, retrieved September 8, 2008 In the final Simmonds managed to improve her time to 1:18.75 while De Koning was only able to swim January 19, 2029 and take the silver, finishing still in front of Paralympic and World Record holder
Doramitzi Gonzalez.
[Beijing 2008: 100m freestyle final results](_blank)
, beijing2008.cn, retrieved September 8, 2008 Later in the week she beat Simmonds in the 50 m freestyle and came second behind Simmonds in the 400 freestyle. She also won a gold medal in the 100 m backstroke event.
Personal best times
See also
*
List of IPC world records in swimming
The world records in disability swimming are ratified by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC). These are the fastest performances in swimming events at meets sanctioned by the IPC.
Races are held in four swimming strokes: freestyle, back ...
*
List of Paralympic records in swimming
The International Paralympic Committee recognises the fastest performances in swimming events at the Paralympic Games. Swimming has been part of at every Summer Paralympic Games.
Races are held in four swimming strokes: freestyle, backstroke, b ...
*
Netherlands at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The Netherlands competed at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing.
A total of 83 Dutch competitors took part in 13 sports. The athletes that qualified for the 2008 Summer Paralympics are listed below.
Medalists
Archery
1 competitor:
;Women ...
*
Swimming at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
The swimming events of the 2008 Summer Paralympics were held in the Beijing National Aquatics Center between September 7 and September 15, 2008. A total of 140 gold medals were expected to be distributed. Paralympic records were broken in 122 ev ...
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Koning, Mirjam de
1969 births
Living people
Dutch female freestyle swimmers
Paralympic swimmers for the Netherlands
Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands
Paralympic silver medalists for the Netherlands
Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands
Swimmers from Amsterdam
World record holders in paralympic swimming
Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics
S6-classified para swimmers
Medalists at the World Para Swimming Championships
Paralympic medalists in swimming
Dutch female backstroke swimmers
21st-century Dutch women