| Aruba at the Paralympics | |
|---|---|
 | |
| IPC code | ARU |
| Medals |
|
| Summer appearances | |
Aruba made its Paralympic Games debut at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, sending one athlete to compete in a swimming event. [1] Aruba has never taken part in the Winter Paralympic Games, and no Aruban athlete has won a Paralympic medal. [1]
The small Caribbean island of Aruba did not have a Paralympic team until Aruban-born Shardea Arias de la Cru decided that there should be one. [2] She had attended Colegio San Nicolas High School before she studied sport at the Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Shardea decided to gather the support required to establish a committee to put forward a Paralympic team. [2] She worked for the Ministry of Tourism, Public Health and Sports and she made contact with their existing Olympic committee. She was able to establish a Paralympic committee. [2] Aruba is part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands so she contacted the Dutch Paralympic committee who supported her work. [2] Dutch athlete Marlou van Rhijn was a notable supporter of the initiative. [2]
They chose 22 year old Jesus de Marchena Acevedo to be their athlete. [3] He had been born with spina bifida and they expected him to be classified as S4. Although he had not swam since a child they helped him train to race at 50 metres. He was classified as S9 which was a surprise as he would compete against more able swimmers. They had thought that he would be classified as having little use of both legs, but the S9 class was for weakness in one leg. [2] He went to the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio but because of an administrative mistake he missed his event by two minutes. [3] On appeal he was allowed to compete at 100m but he was the only athlete in a wheelchair and he came last. The athlete from Aruba enjoyed strong support but he did not enjoy the experience. [2]
For the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics they chose Elliott Loonstra, as their previous athlete had abandoned his sport. Loonstra was to compete at the new Paralympic event of taekwondo. [2] Shardea Arias de la Cru worked with Loostra as she sees it as a way of raising awareness of disability issues. She tried applying for grants but the rewards were small. More money was raised from the public and this had the plus point of further assisting awareness. [4] Loonstra did his training early in the morning and he did not understand how important the Paralympics were. He had not expected to be the only athlete from Aruba at the games and it was only at the opening ceremony that he realised that he was representing the 112,000 people of Aruba. [5] Loonstra dyed his hair blue to carry the flag. [6] He was placed 9th in his event. [7]
| Name | Games | Sport | Event | Score | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jesus de Marchena Acevedo | 2016 Rio | Swimming | 100m freestyle S9 | ||
| Elliott Loonstra | 2020 Tokyo | Taekwondo | Men K44 +75kg | 9th [7] |
Aruba sent a delegation to compete at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece from 13 to 29 August 2004. The delegation's participation in the Athens Olympics marked Aruba's fifth appearance at the Summer Olympics since the Dutch colony's debut at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Korea. Four athletes competed across three sports. None of the track or swimming athletes advanced past the first round in their events, and as of Athens, no Arubans had medaled in any events. Roshendra Vrolijk bore Aruba's flag at the ceremonies.
The Netherlands first sent athletes to the Olympic Games in 1900, and has participated in almost all Games since then with the exception of 1904 Summer Olympics in St. Louis. The Netherlands boycotted the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne as a protest against the Soviet invasion in Hungary just a few weeks before the beginning of the Games.
Aruba competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. Their participation marked their sixth Olympic appearance, and included the smallest number of athletes that had ever represented Aruba in its history. Two Arubans competed in the Olympic games: Jan Roodzant participated as a swimmer, and Fiderd Vis participated in judo. The Aruban delegation arrived in Beijing between August 1 and August 4, including the athletes, coaches, and various officials from both the IOC and the Aruban Olympic Committee, Aruba's local Olympic committee. Fiderd Vis came to Beijing on special invitation from the IOC, which had observed his progress while he trained in Brazil. Vis was the flagbearer in the opening ceremony, while Roodzant was so in the closing ceremony. Both athletes were eliminated in the preliminary rounds on August 12, 2008; consequently, Aruba did not earn any medals.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics, branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).
Marlou van Rhijn is a retired professional Dutch former professional sprint runner. Van Rhijn, who was born without lower legs, is the world record holder for T43 in the 100 and 200 metres events and ran with the aid of carbon fibre transtibial artificial limbs. She competed in T44 events though she was classified in T43. She announced her retirement in June 2021.
Zahra Nemati is an Iranian Paralympic and Olympic archer. She originally competed in taekwondo before she was paralyzed in a car accident. At the 2012 Summer Paralympics she won two medals, an individual gold and team bronze. She has qualified to compete at both the 2016 Summer Olympics and the 2016 Summer Paralympics. She was the flag bearer at the 2016 Olympics and the postponed 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo where she shared the honour with thrower Nourmohammad Arekhi.
Taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured 128 taekwondo fighters competing in eight weight categories; four for men, and four for women. The 2020 Olympics were postponed to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Panipak "Tennis" Wongpattanakit is a Thai taekwondo athlete. She is currently the top-ranked athlete in the women's 49kg.
Aruba competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 5 to 21 August 2016. This was the nation's eighth consecutive appearance at the Summer Olympics.
Allyson Roxanne Ponson is an Aruban swimmer. She holds the national record in 50 and 100 metre freestyle and 50 metre backstroke. In 2011, she was named Aruban Athlete of the Year. She placed 45th in the 50 metre freestyle event at the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Aruba competed in the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from 7 to 18 September 2016. The country's participation in Rio marked its debut appearance in the quadrennial event, although it had competed in the Summer Olympics eight times since the 1988 Games. The delegation consisted of a single short-distance swimmer, Jesus De Marchena Acevedo, who qualified for the Games by using a wildcard. He was chosen as the flag bearer for the opening ceremony and was disqualified from the first discipline he took part in, men's 50 metres freestyle (S7), for arriving late but later placed last overall in the 100 metres freestyle (S7).
Taekwondo at the 2020 Summer Paralympics was held at the Makuhari Messe; the same location where goalball, volleyball and wheelchair fencing took place. This was the first time that taekwondo was included in the Summer Paralympic Games.
India competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. Indian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984, though they made their official debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics. This is India's most successful Paralympic season with 5 golds 8 silvers and 6 bronzes. Before this edition, India had won 12 medals of all previous Paralympics appearances combined.
Turkey competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan from 24 August to 5 September 2021. This was the country's seventh appearance in the past eight Games despite their absence in the 1996 Summer Paralympics.
Mexico participated at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
The Philippines participated at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021 which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The country qualified six athletes, but only three in two sports were able to compete due to three athletes testing positive for COVID-19. The delegation did not win any medal for the first time since the 2012 edition.
Haiti competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was the nation's seventeenth appearance at the Summer Olympics since its debut in 1900.
Indonesia competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan. Originally scheduled to take place in 2020, the Games were rescheduled for 24 August to 5 September 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Croatia competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Zakia Khudadadi also spelt as Zakia Khodadadi is an Afghan parataekwondo practitioner. She is the first Afghan female taekwondo practitioner. She rose to prominence after winning the African International Parataekwondo Championship in 2016 at the age of 18. She would represent Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She was initially denied the opportunity to compete at her maiden Paralympics due to the Taliban takeover but she was later allowed by the International Paralympic Committee to compete in the event after being safely evacuated from Afghanistan. She was able to compete and became the first Afghan female Paralympic competitor to compete at the Paralympics after 17 years since Mareena Karim's participation at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. She also officially became the first Afghan female sportsperson to participate in an international sporting event after the Taliban takeover.
