Sam de Visser (born 26 August 2003) is a Belgian Paralympic swimmer.[1] He competes in classification S9 (S9, SB8 and SM9).[2]
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgian | |||||||||||
| Born | 26 August 2003 | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||
| Coach | Greg Planckaert | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Biography
editde Visser was born with just 4 fingers on his right hand and a not fully developed right leg that was amputated below the knee after birth.[3] He received his first prosthetic leg age 4 and tried out different sports after that: he played football at a very young age and his parents forced him to take swimming lessons when he was 6 as they found it important that he would be able "to save himself".[4] Age 8, he switched to swimming only as he was restricted in his football club to attending training sessions only and was not allowed to partake in competition football with his prosthetic leg.[2]
de Visser has an older and a younger brother, lives in Lommel, Belgium and trains in Bruges, Belgium.[4]
Personal
editde Visser studies Business Management at the Howest University of Applied Sciences in Bruges, Belgium.[1]
Competitions
editde Visser's first international championships were the 2020 World Para Swimming European Open Championships in Funchal, Madeira, Portugal.[5]
de Visser's first world championships were the 2022 World Para Swimming Championships in Madeira, Portugal where he finished 6th in both the men's 100 metres backstroke S9 and 400 m metres Freestyle S9.[6]
A year later, he came close to winning his first international championship medal at the 2023 World Para Swimming Championships in Manchester, UK finishing 4th in the men's 400 metre freestyle S9.[7]
In April 2024 he did win that first international championship medal, a bronze medal at the 2024 World Para Swimming European Open Championships in Funchal, Madeira in his favorite discipline, the 400 metres freestyle.[8]
Later that year, he participated in the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France.[1] He finished 2nd in his heat of the 400 metres freestyle S9 [9] and qualified for the final in which he finished 6th.[10]
Awards
editIn 2019 de Visser was winner of the ENGIE Talent of the Year award.[11] The award was handed out to him by Her Royal Highness Princess Astrid during a special and prestigious edition of the Belgian Paralympic Sports Awards celebrating the 60th birthday of the Paralympic movement in Belgium.[12]
References
edit- ^ a b c [1]. PARIS 2024 PARALYMPIC GAMES - DE VISSER SAM
- ^ a b "Sam de Visser" (in Dutch). G-Sport Vlaanderen. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "Sportleerkracht van zwemmer Sam de Visser uit Lommel reist mee naar Parijs om Paralympische droom mee te beleven" (in Dutch). VRT NWS. 28 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ a b "Op zijn vierde kreeg hij een beenprothese, nu jaagt zwemtalent Sam De Visser (21) zijn dromen na op de Paralympische Spelen: "Ooit wil ik het wereldrecord breken"" (in Dutch). Het Nieuwsblad. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "WORLD PARA SWIMMING EUROPEAN OPEN CHAMPIONSHIPS MADEIRA 2020" (in Dutch). Belgian Paralympic Committee. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ [2]. Result Book - Madeira 2022 - World Para Swimming Championships
- ^ "Sam De Visser au pied du podium sur 400m libre" (in French). RTL Info. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "SAM DE VISSER EN BRONZE SUR LE 400M NAGE LIBRE DES CHAMPIONNATS D'EUROPE DE MADÈRE" (in French). Belgian Paralympic Committee. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "MEN'S 400M FREESTYLE - S9 HEATS RESULTS". www.olympics.com. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "MEN'S 400M FREESTYLE - S9 FINAL RESULTS". www.olympics.com. 29 August 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "ENGIE, supporter of our paralympic athletes for 20 years". corporate.engie.be. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
- ^ "SAM DE VISSER LAUREAAT VAN DE TROFEE ENGIE TALENT VAN HET JAAR 2019" (in Dutch). Belgian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
External links
editSam de Visser at Paralympic.org
- Sam de Visser at the Belgian Paralympic Committee (in Dutch)