| Aruba at the Paralympics | |
|---|---|
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| IPC code | ARU |
| Medals |
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| 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; however, one Dutch rider competed in the 1956 equestrian events, held in Stockholm a few months before the rest 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.
Ellie Victoria Cole, is an Australian retired Paralympic swimmer and wheelchair basketball player. After having her leg amputated due to cancer, she trained in swimming as part of her rehabilitation program and progressed more rapidly than instructors had predicted. She began competitive swimming in 2003 and first competed internationally at the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships, where she won a silver medal. Since then, she has won medals in the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, the Commonwealth Games, the Paralympic Games, the IPC Swimming World Championships, and various national championships.
The 2020 Summer Paralympics, branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were 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).
Emily Beecroft is an Australian Paralympic swimmer. She represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics,2020 Tokyo Paralympics and has been selected for 2024 Summer Paralympics. She won a silver and bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.
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.
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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).
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India competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. India made its official debut at the 1968 Summer Paralympics and has appeared in every edition of the Summer Paralympics since 1984.
Uzbekistan competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021.
Mexico participated at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. Originally scheduled to take place from 25 August to 6 September 2020, the Paralympics were postponed by a year in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the rescheduled Games still referred to as Tokyo 2020 for marketing and branding purposes.. It was the nation's thirteenth appearance at the Summer Paralympics.
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.
Zakia Khudadadi also spelt as Zakia Khodadadi; is a Hazara 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 represented Afghanistan at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She was initially denied the opportunity to compete at her first Paralympics due to the Taliban takeover but 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 in 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 and the first-ever member of the Refugee Paralympic Team to win a medal.
Paraguay competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 August to 5 September 2021. It was the first time that Paraguay had participated in the Paralympic Games. They sent two competitors: T12 runner Melissa Tillner and S9 swimmer Rodrigo Hermosa. Tillner came last in all three of the races she competed in, but achieved her personal best in all of them. Hermosa came 22nd out of the 25 competitors with a time just under 30 seconds.
Beth Munro is a British parataekwondo practitioner from Liverpool. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the –58 kg K44 category. She won a silver medal and it was the UK's first Taekwondo medal.
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