Karina Lauridsen (born 11 December 1976) is a former Paralympic athlete from Denmark. Lauridsen represented her country at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing winning a bronze and gold medal. She has won multiple medals over three World Championships at both long course and short course events. She has also won a bronze medal as a shot putter in the 2002 IPC World Athletics Championships.
Lauridsen was born in Esbjerg, Denmark. After a parachute accident in 2001 she was left with paralysis in both legs. [1] [2]
In 2002 Lauridsen represented Denmark when she took part in the 2002 IPC Athletics World Championships in Lille entering the shot put as a category F55 athlete. There she threw a distance of 7.19m to win the bronze medal. [1] Four years later she was back on the international stage, but she had changed discipline to represent Denmark as a swimmer. In the 2006 IPC Swimming World Championships held in Durban she entered five events winning medals in three, gold in the 150m individual medley SM$ and silver in 50m backstroke S5 and the 50m breaststroke SB3. [1] The next year, at an open meet in Berlin which acted as a qualifier for the 2008 Summer Paralympics, Lauridsen took gold in both the 100m backstroke S5 and the 150m individual medley SM4. Her time in the 100m backstroke of 1:32.91 set a new world record and ensured her a place in the Beijing Paralympic Games. [3]
At the 2008 Summer Paralympics Lauridsen entered four events. She came fifth in the 100m Backstroke S6, which was a strong performance given that she was up against athletes with less severe disabilities, as her S5 category was not run. [4] She finished seventh in 50m freestyle S5, but won a bronze medal in the 50m backstroke S5 and set a world record when she won the 150m medley S5 in a time of 2:47.84. [1] For her success in the 2008 Paralympics, Lauridsen was named Danish Disabled Sportsperson of the Year in 2009. [1]
In 2009, she travelled to Rio de Janeiro to take part in the IPC World short course championships. She returned to Denmark with a bronze, two silvers and a gold in the 50m Breaststroke SB3. [1] At the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships held in Eindhoven, Lauridsen not only successfully defended her 150m individual medley event, but added a second gold by winning the 50m Breaststroke SB3 along with a bronze in the 50m breaststroke SB3. [1]
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