Vanessa Low (born 17 July 1990) is a German-born Australian

Paralympic 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 ...

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

competing in T42

sprint Sprint may refer to: Aerospace *Spring WS202 Sprint, a Canadian aircraft design *Sprint (missile), an anti-ballistic missile Automotive and motorcycle *Alfa Romeo Sprint, automobile produced by Alfa Romeo between 1976 and 1989 *Chevrolet Sprint, ...

and

long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

events. Born in

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, she gained Australian nationality in June 2017. In 2016, Low was the only actively competing female track athlete with two above-knee amputations of her legs. Despite the location of these amputations and despite her having to compete with athletes having one fully functional leg, she successfully made it to the finals of all of her sprint and long jump competitions at both 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 ...

London London is the capital and 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 down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

and the

2016 Summer 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 ...

Rio Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. In Rio she won the gold medal with a 4.93m world record distance in the T42 long jump and a silver medal in the T42 100m competition. This was repeated in the

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralym ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

with the T63 long jump gold medal and world record even though she was classified T61.

Personal history

Low was born on 17 July 1990 in

Schwerin Schwerin (; Mecklenburgisch dialect, Mecklenburgian Low German: ''Swerin''; Latin: ''Suerina'', ''Suerinum'') is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Germany, second-largest city of the northeastern States of Germany, German ...

, and grew up in

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the district Herzogtum Lau ...

. In June 2006, at the age of 15, she was struck by a train at a railway platform after losing her balance. The accident severed her left leg and left her in a coma for two months. During life-saving surgery her doctors were forced to amputate her other leg. It took Low two years to relearn to walk using her prostheses. Low is married to Australian Paralympic gold medallist

Scott Reardon Scott Peter Reardon, (born 15 May 1990) is an Australian Paralympic leg amputee sprinter and water skier. He won water skiing world championships in 2007 and 2009. He represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in athletics, winning ...

Sporting career

Low enjoyed sports before her accident, and wished to continue playing after. She also stated that she was inspired by American disabled long jumper Cameron Clapp. She took up athletics in 2008 and made her senior sports debut the same year, but broke her elbow in 2009, putting her out of competition for three months. Two years later she was selected for the German national team, travelling to Christchurch in New Zealand to compete at the

2011 IPC Athletics World Championships The 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships was held in Christchurch, New Zealand from January 21 to 30, 2011. Athletes with a disability competed, and the Championships was a qualifying event for the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Ove1000 athlet ...

. There she finished fourth in the long jump and won bronze in the T42 100m sprint. Vanessa Low at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

In 2012 Low qualified for both the 100m sprint and

events for the

Summer Paralympics The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

in London. The long jump was open across three classifications, F42 to F44, and was decided on a points system. Her best result of 3.93m saw her finish in sixth place. In the sprint she recorded a time of 16.78, which left her just outside the medal positions, finishing fourth behind team-mate Jana Schmidt. Low was disappointed with her performance at the Games and her training in general leading up to the Paralympics. She consulted her trainer, Steffi Nerius, and decided to retire from competitive sport. In 2013, Low visited her friend and fellow German athlete

Katrin Green Katrin Green (née Katrin Laborenz, born 16 February 1985 in Ruthweiler, Germany) is a Paralympian athlete from Germany competing mainly in category T44 sprint events. She competed in the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, China. There sh ...

, who was living in the United States and was married to American athlete

Roderick Green Roderick Green (born April 26, 1982) is a former American football defensive end. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2004 NFL Draft. He played college football at Central Missouri. Green also played for the San Fr ...

. While training with the Greens, Low found her passion for athletics rekindled and decided to move to the States, and took Roderick on as her new trainer. By the end of the year she was back representing Germany, this time at the 2013 World Championships in Lyon. There she won two bronze medals, in the 100m sprint and the long jump. The following year saw a major breakthrough in her long jump, when she competed 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 Swanse ...

in Swansea. Her distance of 4.24m was a big improvement on her previous major competitions, where she had not jumped over four metres. The result saw her win gold, and more importantly, beat her two major world rivals: Schmidt and Italy's Martina Caironi. In the build up to the

in Rio, Low competed at the 2015 World Championships in Doha. In the 100m sprint she posted a personal best of 15.41s to win the silver medal, but it was her world record distance of 4.79m in the long jump that not only gave her the gold but also set her out as the athlete to beat at Rio. At the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Low won the gold medal with a 4.93m world record distance in the T42 long jump and a silver medal in the T42 100m competition with a personal best of 15.17s. At the

2019 World Para Athletics Championships The 2019 World Para Athletics Championships was a Paralympic track and field event organised by the World Para Athletics subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 7 to 15 November 2019 ...

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, she won the gold medal in the Women's Long Jump T61-63 with jump of 4.68m. It was her first major international medal representing Australia. Low competed for Australia at the

. She won the women's T63 long jump gold medal, surpassing the previous world record three times in wet conditions, her final jump being 5.28m. Low is coached by

Recognition

* 2020 – Awarded

Athletics Australia Athletics Australia is the national sporting organisation (NSO) recognised by Sport Australia for the sport of athletics in Australia. First founded in 1897, the organisation is responsible for administering a sport with over 16,000 registered ...

2019 Female Para-athlete of the Year. * 2022 – Medal of the Order of Australia for service to sport as a gold medallist at the Tokyo Paralympic Games 2020 * 2022 - Athletics Australia Amy Winters Award for Female Para Athlete of the Year

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Vanessa 1990 births Living people German female sprinters German female long jumpers Australian female long jumpers Paralympic athletes of Germany Paralympic athletes of Australia Paralympic gold medalists for Germany Paralympic silver medalists for Germany Paralympic gold medalists for Australia Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Paralympics 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 World record holders in Paralympic athletics German emigrants to Australia Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia Sportspeople from Schleswig-Holstein People from Ratzeburg German expatriate sportspeople in Australia