Connie Hansen (born 29 May 1964 in

Slangerup Slangerup is a town in Frederikssund Municipality, about 30 km north-west of central Copenhagen, in the Capital Region of Denmark. The town of Slangerup The town was established by the Viking Slangir at the time of Harald Bluetooth. King Er ...

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

) is a noted Danish

Paralympian The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

. She competed in athletics at 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 cerebr ...

three times, in 1984, 1988 and 1992, and won a total of nine gold medals, four silvers, and one bronze. She was inducted to the

Paralympic Hall of Fame The Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame is a hall of fame which was established by the International Paralympic Committee. On 30 August 2012, five paralympic athletes were inducted into the fourth ''Visa Paralympic Hall of Fame'' in a ceremony in Londo ...

in 2008. In the years 1988-94 she was often ranked highly on the "Athlete of the Year" list, the leading Danish television and sports newspaper ranking list, and served as one of the "key actors" in the 1992 Barcelona Paralympics’ movie, "Into the Light". Honours/Awards: 1992 "Female athlete of the Year" by Danish National Olympic Organizations. 1992 "Athlete of the year" by the Danish Sports Organisation for Disabled. 1992 "Athlete of the Year, Runner Up – 2. place" voted by the biggest Danish newspaper 1988 "Female Athlete of the Year" by Danish Television. 1988 "Sports Award" of Ministry of Culture. In 1991, she started a company designing and producing running frames and other gait devices.

Frame running Frame running, previously known as RaceRunning, is an adaptive athletic discipline, primarily for people with severe coordination and balance impairments such as cerebral palsy. Athletes use a three-wheeled running frame, with a saddle, body suppor ...

was created in Denmark in 1991 by her and Mansoor Siddiqi, a former CP2L backwards wheelchair foot pushing athlete and currently the international frame running coordinator. It has since been developed in partnership with the

Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association The Cerebral Palsy International Sports and Recreation Association ( CPISRA), a founding member of the Paralympic movement, was an international sports and recreation association for cerebral palsy and related neurological conditions. CPISRA organ ...

. Though her and many others' efforts, frame running has developed to be one of the fastest growing parasports, and an amazing physically and mentally challenging sport for a wide group of the most challenged athletes. A signal to IPC about the importance of standing up for their roots and values of Para Sport. Today, frame running is seen as a discipline within Paraathletics and stands close to be included on the Paralympic program. The company BY CONNIEHANSEN still owned and run by Connie Hansen personal is engaging themselves with rehabilitation centers, dealers and sports/disability organizations in many countries worldwide to strengthen the sport RaceRunning and encourage an active & inclusive lifestyle.

References

External links

* 1964 births Living people Paralympic athletes for Denmark Athletes (track and field) at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for Denmark Paralympic silver medalists for Denmark Paralympic bronze medalists for Denmark Wheelchair racers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Wheelchair racers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Wheelchair racers at the 1992 Summer Olympics Olympic female wheelchair racers Female wheelchair racers Paralympic wheelchair racers Medalists at the 1984 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Danish wheelchair racers Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) {{Denmark-Paralympic-medalist-stub