Kenny van Weeghel (born 16 September 1980 in

Zwolle Zwolle () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands. It is the Capital city, capital of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Overijssel ...

) is a

Paralympic 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 ...

athlete from the Netherlands competing in the 100, 200 and 400 m T54 class

wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and field, track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, including leg amputees, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy. Athletes are c ...

. He participated in the

Paralympic games The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disability, disabilities. There are Winter Paralympic Games, Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 ...

six times already and he has won 6 Paralympic medals among which two golden ones.

Athletics career

Weeghel won the 200m at the European Championships in 2001. This was his first main title and there were many to come. In 2002 he became World Champion by winning the 100m and a year later he won both the 100m and 200m during the World Championships. At the European Championships that same year (2003) he won the 200m and 400m. At the

2004 Summer Paralympics The 2004 Summer Paralympics (), the 12th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Athens, Greece, from 17 to 28 September ...

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, he won his first three Paralympic medals: bronze on the 100m, silver on the 200m and gold on the 400m. He was elected Dutch handicapped sportsman of the year. In 2005 the

World Championships in Athletics The World Athletics Championships, known as the IAAF World Championships in Athletics until 2019, are a biennial athletics competition organized by World Athletics, formerly International Association of Athletics Federations. Alongside Olympic ...

were held in

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

and T54

was added to the program as an exhibition event. In both the 100m and 200m he won the silver medal behind British athlete David Weir. In 2006, in

Assen Assen () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Northeastern Netherlands, and is the capital (politics), capital of the province of Drenthe. It received City rights in ...

the Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, he became once more World Champion 200m, while taking second place (by a mere 0.01 s) on the 100 m behind David Weir.sax.nu Goud voor Kenny van Weeghel op WK
/ref> Van Weeghel won a silver medal at the

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

in 2012 in London (400m) and won two Paralympic medals at the Rio de Janeiro Paralympic games in 2016; gold for the 400m and bronze for the 100m.

Personal records

Awards

* Order of the Lion of the Netherlands – 2004 * National disabled sportsman of the year – 2004 * Atletiekunie Paralympic athlete of the year – 2014 *

Honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honor usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of the province of Brabant – 2017

References

External links

*
World ranking and athlete information
from

International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation World Abilitysport (formerly the International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation or IWAS) is an international sports organisation that governs sports for athletes with physical impairments. It is a registered charity with its headquarte ...

(archived) * * {{DEFAULTSORT:van Weeghel, Kenny 1980 births Living people Dutch male wheelchair racers Paralympic wheelchair racers Paralympic athletes for the Netherlands Paralympic gold medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic silver medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic bronze medalists for the Netherlands Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics 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 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Medalists at the World Para Athletics European Championships Sportspeople from Zwolle Athletes from Overijssel