Peter Genyn (born 24 December 1976) is a

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

sportsman from

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

. Initially Genyn competed as a

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US na ...

player before switching to track and field athletics in 2014 where he competes in category T51 sprint events. In 2016 he became the world record holder in the T51 men's 400 metres sprint.

Personal history

Genyn was born in

Brasschaat Brasschaat () is a municipality located in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium, and in the Flemish province of Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Brasschaat proper. In November 2006, Brasschaat won the LivCom-Award 200 ...

, Belgium in 1976. In 1990 he jumped into a shallow pond, breaking his neck which resulted in

tetraplegia Tetraplegia, also known as quadriplegia, is defined as the dysfunction or loss of motor and/or sensory function in the cervical area of the spinal cord. A loss of motor function can present as either weakness or paralysis leading to partial o ...

. He has a degree in computer science.

Rugby

Genyn took up

shortly after his accident in 1993, and was classified as a 1.5 player. He represented Belgium at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympi ...

in Athens where the team ended sixth overall. As well as his Paralympic appearance Genyn was also part of the Belgium team at two IWRF World Championships, at Christchurch in 2006 (finishing 8th) and Vancouver in 2010 (7th). His highlight as a Wheelchair rugby player came in 2009 when he was part of the Belgium team that beat Sweden in the final of the 2009 IWRF European Championship. Genyn followed this with a second Paralympic appearance when Belgium qualified for

London 2012 The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

after finishing third in the 2011 European Championship. Genyn's wheelchair rugby career came to an end in November 2013 after he broke his leg.

Athletics

After the end of his wheelchair rugby career Genyn switched to track and field athletics. Genyn switched to sprinting as he always saw himself as the fastest member of the Belgian rugby team. After being classified as a T51 athlete, Genyn appeared at his first major international competition when he represented Belgium at the

2014 IPC Athletics European Championships The 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships was a track and field competition for athletes with a disability open to International Paralympic Committee (IPC) affiliated countries within Europe, plus Azerbaijan and Israel. It was held in Swan ...

in Swansea. He took part in two events, the

100 100 or one hundred ( Roman numeral: C) is the natural number following 99 and preceding 101. In medieval contexts, it may be described as the short hundred or five score in order to differentiate the English and Germanic use of "hundred" to de ...

and 400 metres sprints. Genyn won two silver medals, beaten in both by Finland's

Toni Piispanen Toni Piispanen (born 24 July 1976) is a Finnish Paralympic athlete. Career He started as an able-bodied karate competitor and became disabled due to an accident that injured his spinal cord at a karate show in 1993. This accident occurred in La ...

, another ex-wheelchair rugby player. The following year Genyn met Piispanen again at the 2015 World Championships in Doha. This time the tables were reversed with Genyn pushing Piispanen into the lower medal places as he took gold in both the

100 metre The 100 metres, or 100-meter dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, the dash is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been conteste ...

and 400 metre races, setting championship records in both. In the build up to the

Rio 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 ...

, Genyn entered the 2016 European Championships in Grosseto. He won gold in both the

and 400 metres sprints setting a new world record time of 1:18.09 in the 400m event. During the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, fro ...

, Genyn managed to win the gold medal both in the 100m as well as in the 400m T51 event. One year later he successfully defended his titles at the 100 and 400 metres events at the 2017 World Championships in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Two years later, he won gold and silver at the 200 and 100 m events respectively. At the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, Genyn took silver in the 200 meter T-51, coming second by half a second, and took gold in the 100 meter T-51, setting a new Paralympic record for the race. Hours before the 100 meter race, his chair was found in disrepair in what was believed an act of sabotage, but was roughly fixed using duct tape. Roger Habsch, another Belgian athlete for the same race, also found his chair damaged. He was Belgium's flag bearer at the closing ceremony.

Awards

Belgian Paralympic Athlete of the Year (2017 & 2018)https://www.paralympic.be/nl/nieuws/peter-genyn-paralympi%C3%ABr-van-2018

References

External links

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Video of Genyn winning gold at the Men's 400m T51 final - 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships Doha

Peter Genyn - Cœur Handisport
{{DEFAULTSORT:Genyn, Peter 1976 births Living people Sportspeople from Brasschaat Belgian male sprinters Track and field athletes with disabilities Paralympic athletes for Belgium Wheelchair rugby players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair rugby players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics World record holders in para-athletics Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships World Para Athletics Championships winners Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Paralympic gold medalists for Belgium Paralympic silver medalists for Belgium 21st-century Belgian people