On 29 July 1948, the first Stoke Mandeville Games were held ; the same day as the opening of the Summer Olympics in London. This event was the first organized athletic event for disabled athletes and was hosted by Dr Ludwig Guttman, a neurosurgeon who had fled nazi Germany in 1939 and who had opened a Spinal Injuries Unit at Stoke Mandeville in 1944.

Guttman’s ambition was to create a competition for disabled athletes that would be equivalent to the Olympic Games. And he succeeded. The Stoke Mandeville Games were held at the same location every year. The participation of Dutch and Israeli veterans in 1952 made it the first international competition of its kind. In 1960 the games were held outside the UK for the first time, to coincide with the Summer Olympics held in Rome. This was the first time that the games weren’t opened solely to injured war veterans and they are now officially stated to be the first official Paralympic Games.

The Paralympics are still held in parallel with and in a similar way to the Olympic Games. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games and there are several categories in which the para-athletics compete (depending on the different disabilities).

Esther Vergeer is a Dutch para-athlete who has won 7 golden paralympic medals during her career as a para-tennis player.

At the age of 7, Esther Vergeer lost conciousness during her swimming lessons. And a few weeks later it happened again. It was then discovered that she had a bundle of blood vessels stuck to her spinal cord who caused small brain seizures whenever she made an effort. She underwent surgery, but wasn’t able to move her legs anymore.

She discovered that playing sport was the best way for her to deal with her handicap. In 1993 she starts playing wheelchair basketball and -tennis , but in 1998 she took the decision to play wheelchair tennis once and for all.

Her first Paralympics were in 2000, where she won gold immediately. She participated in the Paralympics of 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012. In total, she has won 7 golden medals, and 1 silver.

The last time she lost a match, was in 2003, since then she has been unbeaten for 470 matches, a worldwide record in tennis.

She quit her career in 2013 and was rewarded an award for being a national sportshero in The Netherlands in 2016. She is a member of the International Tennis Hall of Fame since this year.

She might have quit her career as an olympic wheelchair tennisplayer, but she speaks at seminars and she has her own foundation. In 2004 she created the Esther Vergeer foundation, that introduces disabled children to various sports.

Esther is a real powerwoman. Overcoming and accepting a disability with such willpower and strenght is proof of a very strong character. She is an example to all of us.

I think of her whenever I think of my own ambitions. I’m lucky to not be disabled, but I face obstacles of my own. I try to overcome them with the same willpower and strength as Esther. She has proven that if you really want something, with the right state of mind, you can achieve your goals.