Evelyn van Leeuwen: Difference between revisions

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{{Short description|Dutch wheelchair basketball player}}

{{Infobox sportsperson

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'''Evelyn van Leeuwen''' (born 15 May 1972) is a Dutch [[wheelchair basketball]] player from [[Leiden]].<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.medischcontact.nl/nieuws/laatste-nieuws/artikel/ik-ga-altijd-voor-het-hoogst-haalbare.htm|title=‘Ik ga altijd voor het hoogst haalbare’|website=www.medischcontact.nl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://teamnl.org:443/sporters/5611-evelyn-van-leeuwen|title=Evelyn van Leeuwen|website=teamnl.org}}</ref> She competed at four Paralympic Games between 1996 and 2016. She won the silver medal at the [[1996 Summer Paralympics]]<ref name="auto"/> and 20 years later the bronze medal at the [[2016 Summer Paralympics]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paralympic.org/static/info/rio-2016/eng/zb/engzb_wheelchair-basketball-athlete-profile-nwbw400ned01-netherlands.htm|title=Wheelchair Basketball - Netherlands|website=www.paralympic.org|access-date=2020-07-19 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.paralympic.org/evelyn-van-leeuwen|title=Evelyn van Leeuwen - Wheelchair Basketball {{!}} Paralympic Athlete Profile|website=International Paralympic Committee|language=en|access-date=2020-07-19 July 2020}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|title=Wheelchair Basketball {{!}}Netherlands VS Great Britain{{!}}Women's - Bronze Match Rio 2016 Paralympic Games|url=https://www.paralympic.org/video/wheelchair-basketball-netherlands-vs-great-britainwomen-s-bronze-match-rio-2016-paralympic|access-date=2020-07-19 July 2020|language=en}}</ref>

== Sports career ==

From a young age, van Leeuwen was a low-level competitive [[speed skater]]. When she was 18 years old she crashed during a competition in [[Leiden]]. There wasn’t a proper safety boarding, causing her to become [[paraplegia|paraplegic]]. After two years of recovery, she started to again become involved with sports. She started with wheelchair basketball and after contacting the national coach, she was able to become part of the national team.<ref name="auto"/>

In 2000, van Leeuwen was a professional player in [[Badajoz]] in western Spain while she was conducting research.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Velthuis|first=Rob|date=2001-01-20 January 2001|title='Ik sta op de wereld om gelukkig dood te gaan'|url=https://www.trouw.nl/gs-b19716c1|access-date=2021-07-12 July 2021|website=Trouw|language=nl-NL}}</ref> It was a team of men and she was asked to join them and she stayed there for a year.<ref name=medi/> She also played at the [[2000 Summer Paralympics]], [[2004 Summer Paralympics]] and [[2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship]]. Due to pregnancy, she couldn’t compete at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics.

At the beginning of her wheelchair basketball career, van Leeuwen was studying medicine. Later, also next to her wheelchair basketball activity, she was a [[general practitioner]],<ref name="auto"/> but she became a paediatrician in 2012 so that she could then work part-time.<ref name=medi>{{Cite web|title=‘Ik ga altijd voor het hoogst haalbare’|url=https://www.medischcontact.nl/nieuws/laatste-nieuws/artikel/ik-ga-altijd-voor-het-hoogst-haalbare.htm|access-date=2021-07-11 July 2021|website=www.medischcontact.nl|language=nl}}</ref>

In 2016, van Leeuwen returned to the national team and she won a team bronze medal at the [[2016 Summer Paralympics]] in Rio. She was the oldest player on the team but there were two others also in their 40s.<ref name=medi/>

== Personal ==

Van Leeuwen is married to Olympian and Paralympian [[Jeroen Straathof]].<ref>{{Cite web|last=RadioGuys.nl|title=Rolstoelbasketballers door naar kwartfinale paralympics|url=https://sleutelstad.nl/2016/09/14/rolstoelbasketballers-door-naar-kwartfinale-paralympics/|access-date=2021-07-13 July 2021|website=Sleutelstad|language=en}}</ref> They have four daughters and she prioritised them over competing while they were growing up. In time she has learned to cycle and she can walk with the aid of crutches.<ref name=medi/>

== References ==