Verena Bentele

Verena Bentele (born 28 February 1982, in Lindau) is a blind German Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind and partially sighted in Marburg, Germany. She won her first Paralympic medals (one gold, two silver, one bronze) at the 1998 Winter Paralympics, followed by four gold medals at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, as well as two gold and one bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Paralympics[1] She was also winner of the Combined World Cup in Biathlon und Cross-Country in 2006.

Verena Bentele
Bentele in 2013
Personal information
NationalityGerman
Born (1982-02-28) 28 February 1982
Lindau, Bavaria, West Germany
Sport
Country Germany
SportBiathlon, Cross-country skiing
Coached byWerner Nauber
Retired2011
Medal record
Representing  Germany
Paralympic Games
Women's biathlon
Gold medal – first place 1998 Nagano 7.5km free technique B1
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 7.5km free technique blind
Gold medal – first place 2006 Turin 7.5km blind
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 12.5km Individual visually impaired
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 3km Pursuit visually impaired
Bronze medal – third place 2006 Turin 12.5km blind
Women's cross-country skiing
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 10km free technique B1-2
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 15km free technique visually impaired
Gold medal – first place 2002 Salt Lake City 5km classical technique B1
Gold medal – first place 2006 Turin 5km blind visually impaired
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 1km Sprint visually impaired
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 15km visually impaired
Gold medal – first place 2010 Vancouver 5km visually impaired
Silver medal – second place 1998 Nagano 5km classical technique B1
Silver medal – second place 1998 Nagano 5km free technique B1
Bronze medal – third place 1998 Nagano 3x2km relay open

Career

During the 2009 German blind cross country championship, Bentele had a serious accident. Her sighted guide failed to give proper directions, so she fell down a slope in a dry river bed. She tore a cruciate ligament in her knee, and suffered finger and liver injuries, and damaged one kidney so badly that it had to be removed.

Despite this, only a year later, Bentele had her best Olympic result, winning five gold medals in the 2010 Winter Paralympics in Vancouver. As a result of her performance at the Games, Bentele was named Best Female at the Paralympic Sport Awards.[2]

Bentele has won the "Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" award for the year 2011. Late in 2011, she announced her retirement at the age of 29.[3] In 2014 Bentele was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame.[4]

Bentele was nominated by the Social Democratic Party to be a delegate to the Federal Convention for the purpose of electing the President of Germany in 2010, 2012 and 2017.[5] She joined the party in 2012.

Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons, 2014–2018

In January 2014, Bentele was appointed Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel.[6] In this capacity, she was part of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs under the leadership of minister Andrea Nahles and heads the government's focal point in charge of monitoring the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. She served in that position until 2018.

Sozialverband VdK Deutschland e.V., from 2018

In May 2018, Bentele was elected president of the non-profit organisation Sozialverband VdK Deutschland e.V.,[7] the largest social association in Germany.

Other activities

References
  1. "Verena Bentele". Paralympic.org. International Paralympic Committee.
  2. "Verena Bentele Named Best Female Athlete by IPC". International Paralympic Committee. 12 December 2012.
  3. "Germany's Top Winter Athlete Bentele Announces Retirement".
  4. "IPC reveals three Paralympic Hall of Fame inductees". paralympic.org. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  5. Mitglieder bzw. Ersatzmitglieder der 16. Bundesversammlung Landtag of Bavaria, press release of 22 November 2016.
  6. "Verena Bentele, The Federal Government Commissioner for Matters relating to Disabled Persons". DW. Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  7. "Verena Bentele ist die neue Präsidentin des Sozialverbands VdK Deutschland" (in German). Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  8. University Council German Sport University Cologne (DSHS).
  9. Board of Trustees German Institute for Human Rights (DIMR).
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