Marieke Vervoort: Belgian Paralympic athlete and advocate of euthanasia
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A gold medallist at the London games, she drew attention four years later in Rio with the announcement that she would end her life if her pain became unendurable.
By Christine Manby
In 2012, Belgian athlete Marieke Vervoort took gold in the 100m T52 wheelchair class at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London. Unbeknownst to the crowds who cheered her on to victory, Vervoort had already made the decision that would bring her to worldwide attention again four years later. Just prior to the Rio games she announced that when the pain caused by the degenerative spinal condition that had put her in a wheelchair became unendurable, she would end her life by euthanasia.
Vervoort, who has died aged 40, was born in Diest to Jos and Odette Vervoort. She was 14 when she first noticed the symptoms of what would be diagnosed seven years later as reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a degenerative condition of the spine and muscles. A keen sportswoman who excelled at basketball and loved diving, she suddenly...
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