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Wim De Paepe

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Wim De Paepe
De Paepe at the 2024 Summer Paralympics
Personal information
NationalityBelgian
Born (1985-01-03) 3 January 1985 (age 39)
Belgium
Sport
SportPara swimming
Paratriathlon
Club3T Triathlon Tenacity Team
Medal record
Men's paratriathlon
Representing  Belgium
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Torremolinos PTS2
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Abu Dhabi PTS2
Bronze medal – third place 2022 Abu Dhabi PTS2
European Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Valencia PTS2
Bronze medal – third place 2024 Vichy PTS2

Wim De Paepe (born 1 January 1985) is a Belgian Paralympic swimmer and triathlete.[1] He competes in classification PTS2.[2]

Biography

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De Paepe grew up on a farm, specializing the production of strawberries, in the country-side of Bois-de-Nivelles in Hainaut Province, Belgium, in a family of 5, with a brother and a sister. He lost a part of his right leg when he was ten years old in an accident with a farmer's equipment, as a result of which he now wears a prosthetic leg.[3][2] Sports having always played an important part in his and his family member's lives, he wanted to continue to practice a sport and as his sister was already a swimmer, he took up swimming himself, partly because it did not require any specific equipment partly because it allowed him to learn to live with his new body.[3][4]

Personal

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De Paepe is married and has three sons.[1] He works as a physiotherapist and osteopath.[3]

Competitions

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De Paepe started doing international para swimming competitions from around the age of 15.[3]

He participated in the 2002, 2006 and 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in multiple events, ranging from 50 to 400 metres freestyle S9 over 100 metres backstroke S9 to 200 metres individual medley SM9 and even 5,000 metres Open Water S10, with an 8th place in the 100 metres Freestyle S9 at the 2002 IPC Swimming World Championships in Mar del Plata, Argentina, as his best result.[5]

He represented Belgium at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece finishing 6th in the final of the men's 400 metres freestyle S9.[6]

After a long hiatus from competition sports, and when COVID-19 forced him to slow down at work, he turned to sports and after he cycled up the Mount Ventoux in France,[7] he decided to join the "Royal Cercle Athlétique du Brabant Wallon" [8] setting his mind to para triathlon.[3] With success. At his very first European Triathlon Para Championships, in 2021 in Valencia, Spain, he wins the bronze medal.[9][10] He follows that up in December of that year with another bronze medal, this time at the World Triathlon Para Championships in Abu Dhabi.[11][12]

Nearly a year later to the day, he wins another bronze medal at the 2022 World Triathlon Para Championships again in Abu Dhabi.[13][14]

Twenty years after participating as a swimmer in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece, he qualified as a triathlete for the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France.[15][16] In Paris, he finished 5th, one place better than in 2024.[17] Barely 20 days after the Olympics, he won a bronze medal at the Europe Triathlon Championships in Vichy, France[18][19] and in October he become world champion at the 2024 World Triathlon Para Championships in Torremolinos, Spain and the first Belgian to do so.[20][21]

References

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  1. ^ a b "DE PAEPE Wim". Paris 2024 Paralympics. Retrieved 31 August 2024. (alternate link)
  2. ^ a b "WIM DE PAEPE" (in French). Belgian Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Wim De Paepe, Para Triathlète: "Mes origines agricoles m'ont appris à toujours aller plus loin"" (in French). Le Sillon Belge. 22 June 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  4. ^ "Le témoignage de Wim De Paepe, athlète handisport spécialisé dans le paratriathlon" (Podcast) (in French). NRJ (Belgium). 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Wim de Paepe". www.paralympic.org. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  6. ^ "Results Archive - Athens 2004 - Swimming - Mens 400 M Freestyle S9". www.paralympic.org. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  7. ^ "Een ongeval op de boerderij van zijn ouders veranderde alles: wie is triatleet en osteopaat Wim De Paepe, knap vijfde in Parijs?". Het Belang van Limburg (in Dutch). 2 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  8. ^ "Wim De Paepe". www.cabwsportadapte.net (in French). 5 September 2020. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  9. ^ "Results: 2021 Europe Triathlon Championships-Valencia-PTS2 Men". World Triathlon. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  10. ^ "WIM DE PAEPE DÉCROCHE LE BRONZE AUX CHAMPIONNATS D'EUROPE DE PARATRIATHLON". www.paralympic.org (in French). 27 September 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  11. ^ "Results: 2021 World Triathlon Para Championships Abu Dhabi - PTS2 Men". World Triathlon. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  12. ^ "Wim De Paepe crée l'exploit aux Mondiaux" (in French). La Dernière Heure. 9 November 2021. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  13. ^ "Results: 2022 World Triathlon Para Championships - Abu Dhabi - PTS2 Men". World Triathlon. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  14. ^ "WIM DE PAEPE DÉCROCHE LE BRONZE AUX MONDIAUX DE PARA TRIATHLON !". www.paralympic.org (in French). 24 November 2022. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  15. ^ "Wim de Paepe, à la poursuite d'un nouveau rêve paralympique 20 ans après Athènes" (in French). RTBF. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  16. ^ "Which men have secured Paralympic qualification slots for Paris?". World Triathlon. 21 August 2024. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
  17. ^ "Wim De Paepe a gagné une place par rapport à Athènes et s'est pris aux Jeux". Le Soir. 2 September 2024. Retrieved 4 September 2024.
  18. ^ "Results: 2024 Europe Triathlon Championships Vichy - PTS2 Men". www.triathlon.org. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  19. ^ "MÉDAILLE DE BRONZE POUR WIM DE PAEPE AUX CHAMPIONNATS D'EUROPE DE PARA TRIATHLON" (in French). Belgian Paralympic Committee. 22 September 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  20. ^ "Results: 2024 World Triathlon Para Championships Torremolinos-Andalucia - PTS2 Men". World Triathlon. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
  21. ^ "Wim De Paepe schrijft geschiedenis als eerste wereldkampioen G-triatlon van België" [Wim De Paepe writes history as Belgium's first para triathlon world champion] (in Dutch). Sporza. 18 October 2024. Retrieved 19 October 2024.
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