Wim Decleir (born 5 March 1971) is a former

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 ...

. He competed in

para-cycling Para-cycling (or Paracycling) is the sport of cycling (sport), cycling adapted for cyclists who have various disability, disabilities. It is governed by the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI). The sport consists of seven different events which in ...

Personal history

Decleir was born in Belgium in 1971. He was a promising football player for former Belgian first division club,

K.R.C. Harelbeke Koninklijke Racing Club Zuid-West-Vlaanderen was a Belgian football club from the municipality of Harelbeke, West Flanders from 1930 to 2002. It played one spell in the first division from 1995 to 2001. At the end of the 2000–01 season, the c ...

. After a motorcycle accident in 1989, his left leg was amputated in 1995. Soon after Decleir started

powerlifting Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

and in 2000 he switched to

handcycling A handcycle is a type of human-powered land vehicle powered by the arms rather than the legs, as on a bicycle. Most handcycles are tricycle in form, with two coasting rear wheels and one steerable powered front wheel. Despite usually having th ...

br>
Decleir is married with two children and is a bank manager. In 2012, he made the national news headlines when his mistress was murdered by her husband.

Sporting career

Decleir competed in the H4 (classification), H4 men's road race and time trial at 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 ...

finishing 4th in the time trial and winning a bronze in the road race. German athlete Norbert Mosandl, 2nd in the time trial, was banned one year later for two years after a positive

doping test A drug test is a technical analysis of a biological specimen, for example urine, hair, blood, breath, sweat, or oral fluid/saliva—to determine the presence or absence of specified parent drugs or their metabolites. Major applications of drug ...

for EPO. He won two bronze medals at the UCI Para-cycling Road World Championships in 2010 in

Baie-Comeau Baie-Comeau (; 2021 city population 20,687; CA population 26,643) is a city located approximately north-east of Quebec City in the Côte-Nord region of the province of Quebec, Canada. It is located on the shores of the Saint Lawrence River nea ...

, Canada and a silver in the Road Race H4 at the 2011 World Championships in

Roskilde Roskilde ( , ) is a city west of Copenhagen on the Danish island of Zealand. With a population of 51,916 (), the city is a business and educational centre for the region and the 10th largest city in Denmark. It is governed by the administrative ...

, Denmark. He won the

Berlin Marathon The Berlin Marathon (german: Berlin-Marathon, ) is a marathon event held annually on the streets of Berlin, Germany on the last weekend of September. Held annually since 1974, the event includes multiple races over the marathon distance of , inclu ...

in 2005, 2006 and 2007 and the Hamburg Marathon in 2006 and 2008.

Awards

* Belgian Paralympic Athlete of the Year (2011) after finishing year ranked world number 1 for Road Race *

Trophy Victor Boin Paralympics Belgium recognizes the achievements of Belgian Paralympic athletes, coaches and administrators through this award. It is named after Victor Boin, co-founder and first president of the Belgian Paralympic Committee, and was created in th ...

(2017)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Decleir, Wim 1971 births Living people Belgian male cyclists Paralympic competitors for Belgium Paralympic bronze medalists for Belgium Paralympic medalists in cycling Cyclists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics 21st-century Belgian sportspeople