Irmgard Bensusan

Irmgard Bensusan (born 24 January 1991) is a South African born Paralympic sprinter who now competes for Germany, mainly in T44 classification events.[1] Bensusan competed at the 2016 Summer Paralympics where she won three silver medals in the 100, 200 and 400 metre sprints.

Irmgard Bensusan
Competições de Atletismo no Estádio Olímpico
Personal information
Born (1991-01-24) 24 January 1991
Pretoria, South Africa
Sport
CountryGermany
SportAthletics
Disability classT44
Event(s)
ClubTSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen
Coached byKarl-Heinz Due
Medal record
Women's athletics
Paralympic Games
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de Janeiro100 m T44
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de Janeiro200 m T44
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de Janeiro400 m T44
Silver medal – second place2020 Tokyo200 m T64
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2023 Paris 200 m T64
Silver medal – second place2015 Doha400 m T44
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Grosseto 100 m T44
Gold medal – first place2016 Grosseto 200 m T44
Silver medal – second place2014 Swansea 100 m T44
Silver medal – second place2014 Swansea 200 m T44
Silver medal – second place2014 Swansea 400 m T44
Silver medal – second place2016 Grosseto 400 m T44

Personal life

Bensusan was born on 24 January 1991 in Pretoria, South Africa. She studied accounting at the University of Johannesburg.[2]

Athletics career

Bensusan first took up athletics as an able-bodied competitor whilst living in South Africa.[2] In 2009 whilst competing in a hurdle event, she tore the nerves in her right knee. The injury resulted in paralysis in her right leg below her knee.[2] Bensusan looked at becoming classified as a para-sport athlete but was unable to gain a classification from the South African Paralympic Committee.[2] As her mother was German she was eligible to represent Germany, and so she travelled to Europe to take up residency in Leverkusen and was subsequently classified as a T44 track and field athlete.[2]

In 2014, she represented Germany at her first major international event, travelling to Swansea in Wales to compete in the 2014 IPC Athletics European Championships. There she won three silver medals, in the 100m, 200m and 400m sprints. In the two shorter events she was beaten by the Dutch 'Blade Babe' Marlou van Rhijn, and in the 400 metres she was beaten by a new world record time by France's Marie-Amélie Le Fur. A year later Bensusan took part in the 2015 IPC Athletics World Championships in Doha.

2016 Summer Paralympics

In the buildup to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, Bensusan took part in her second European Championships, this time in Grosseto, Italy. Bensusan was able to win gold in both the 100m and 200m events. Her times running up to Rio saw Bensusan qualify for all three sprint events at the Summer Paralympics: the 100m, 200m and 400m races. She took silver in all three events, losing the gold medals to van Rhijn (100m and 200m) and Le Fur (400m).[2]

Bensusan won the gold medal in the women's 200 metres T64 event at the 2023 World Para Athletics Championships held in Paris, France.[3]

References
  1. "Bensusan, Irmgard". paralympic.org. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  2. "Bensusan, Irmgard". IPC. Retrieved 24 September 2016.
  3. "2023 World Para Athletics Championships Results Book" (PDF). Paralympic.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
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