 Arnu Fourie at the 2016 Summer Paralympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Arnu Fourie | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality |  South African | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 24 April 1985 South Africa | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Arnu Fourie (born 24 April 1985) is a South African Paralympian athlete who runs in the T44 class. His is a single-below-the-knee amputee.
Fourie was born in Bloemfontein, and lost his left leg below the knee in a boating propeller accident in 2003. He was a rugby player at the time, and was signed by the Golden Lions before his accident. He initially lost interest in sports, but he took up running after the death of a friend convinced him that he should be more active. Fourie graduated from Stellenbosch University and is employed as an accountant in Stellenbosch. He trains at the Maties Helderberg Sports Club for Disabled Athletes under coach Suzanne Ferreira. [1]
Fourie participated in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, taking 4th place in the 100 m and 6th place in the 200 m final. He won a gold medal in the IAAF Golden League Meet in Paris in 2011, [2] and a gold medal as part of the 4x100 relay team at the 2011 IPC Athletics World Championships in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Fourie won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London on 5 September 2012, running the third leg as part of the South African 4 × 100 m relay team in a world record time of 41.78 seconds. [3] He won a bronze medal in the 100 meter event with a time of 11.08 seconds. [4] He set a T44 world record in his 200-meter heat, then broke it in the final; he placed fourth overall in the event behind T43 classified athletes. [5]
He is married to Carene Fourie née Zaayman.
Oscar Leonard Carl Pistorius is a South African former professional sprinter and convicted murderer. Both of his feet were amputated when he was 11 months old as a result of a congenital defect; he was born missing the outside of both feet and both fibulae. Pistorius ran in both nondisabled sprint events and in sprint events for below-knee amputees. He was the 10th athlete to compete at both the Paralympic Games and Olympic Games.
John McFall is a British Paralympic sprinter and ESA Project astronaut. In November 2022, he was selected by the European Space Agency to become the first "parastronaut". ESA will do a feasibility study on him flying to space and what needs to be adapted for people with disabilities.
Jerome Singleton is a Paralympic athlete from the United States competing mainly in category T44 sprint events. Because he had no fibula in his right calf, his leg was amputated below the knee when he was 18 months old.
April Holmes is a Paralympic athlete from the USA competing mainly in category T44 sprint events.
Marie-Amélie Le Fur she is a French Paralympic athlete from Vendôme, Centre Region, competing in T44 sprint and F44 long jump events. Her left leg was amputated below the knee following a motor scooter accident in 2004. Before she lost her leg, she was a French junior running champion. As of 2023, Le Fur is the President of the French Paralympic and Sports Committee.
Jonathan Peacock MBE is an English sprint runner. An amputee, Peacock won gold at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and 2016 Summer Paralympics, representing Great Britain in the T44 men's 100 metres event. He won a bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Paralympics.
Alan Fonteles Cardoso Oliveira is a Paralympian athlete from Brazil competing mainly in category T44 sprint events. Oliveira is a double-below-the-knee amputee, classifying him in the Paralympic T43 class; athletes in this class run in T44 event.
T42 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to athletes with single above the knee amputations or a disability that is comparable. This class includes ISOD classified A2 and A9 competitors.
T43 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to athletes with "Double below knee amputation or similar disability." It includes ISOD classified athletes from the A4 and A9 classes.
T44 is a disability sport classification for disability athletics, applying to "Single below knee amputation or an athlete who can walk with moderately reduced function in one or both legs." It includes ISOD A4 and A9 classes.
The Men's 100m athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium from August 31 to September 8. A total of 15 events were contested over this distance for 15 different classifications.
The Men's 4 × 100 m Relay athletics events for the 2012 Summer Paralympics took place at the London Olympic Stadium on 5 September. A total of two events were contested over this distance incorporating six different classifications.
Markus Rehm is a German Paralympic athlete. He began in sports at age 20 and became a long jump F44 world champion in 2011. His club is TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen and he is a medical specialist. Rehm is nicknamed "The Blade Jumper", as he is a long jumper with a blade-type leg prosthesis. Rehm's right leg was amputated below the knee after a wakeboarding accident. He uses a carbon-fibre bladed prosthesis, from which he jumps off.
Richard Browne is an American sprint runner. In 2007 an accident sent him through a plate glass window, which resulted in an arterial bleed causing permanent damage to his right leg. In 2010, after 14 surgical operations, his leg was amputated. "I was 16 years old in the prime of my life. I go through a window one day and from that point on my life is changed forever".
Blake Leeper is a United States Paralympic athlete, eight-time Paralympic Track and Field international medalist, world record holder and three-time American record holder.
David Prince is an American sprint runner who runs in the T44 class. He was raised by missionary parents and traveled frequently, living for a while in Oaxaca, Mexico. He lost his right leg below the knee in a motorcycle accident in 2002.
Liam Bevan Malone is a former New Zealand para-athlete, primarily competing in sprint events. He represented New Zealand at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he won gold medals in the men's 200 metres T44 and 400 metres T44, and the silver medal in the men's 100 metres T44.
Felix Streng is a German Paralympic track and field athlete. A single leg amputee, Streng competes in both sprint and long jump events, competing in the T44 classification. He has won medals at both European and World Championship level and was part of the German Athletics at the 2016 Summer Paralympics – Men's 4 × 100 metres relay team that won gold at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio.
Marlene van Gansewinkel is a Dutch Paralympic athlete. In 2021, she won the gold medal in both the women's 100 metres T64 and 200 metres T64 events at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. She also won the bronze medal in the women's long jump T64 event.
Fleur Jong is a Dutch Paralympic athlete. She won the gold medal in the women's long jump T64 event at the 2020 Summer Paralympics held in Tokyo, Japan. She also set a new world record of 6.16 metres. As of September 2023, her current world record in this event is 6.74 metres.
