Maaike Smit (7 August 1966, in

Emmeloord Emmeloord is the administrative centre of the municipality of Noordoostpolder, Flevoland, Netherlands. In 2019, it had a population of 26,055. Overview At the heart of the Noordoostpolder, where the three main drainage canals Lemstervaart, ...

) is a Dutch former professional

wheelchair tennis Wheelchair tennis is one of the forms of tennis adapted for wheelchair users. The size of the court, net height and rackets are the same, but there are two major differences from pedestrian tennis: athletes use specially designed wheelchairs, ...

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 ...

player. Smit started wheelchair tennis at the age of 20. She played at the US Open and Australian Open, and won the Florida Open International Wheelchair Tennis Championship 4 times. In 1996, Smit won a gold medal in the singles wheelchair event at the

1996 Atlanta Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games where Internatio ...

. She also won two gold medals in doubles at the 2000 Sydney and the 2004 Athens Paralympics. She was sponsored by

Invacare Invacare Corporation is an American manufacturer and distributor of non-acute medical equipment including wheelchairs, mobility scooters, walkers, pressure care and positioning, as well as respiratory products. Headquartered in Elyria, Ohio, the ...

, a company that produces wheelchairs and other equipment for disabled people.

References

External links

Interview with Maaike Smit (2008)
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smit, Maaike 1966 births Living people Dutch female tennis players Wheelchair tennis players People from Emmeloord Sportspeople from Noordoostpolder Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic wheelchair tennis players of the Netherlands Dutch women's wheelchair basketball players Wheelchair basketball players at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair tennis players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in wheelchair tennis Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball