Verena Bentele
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Bentele in 2013
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Personal information | |
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Nationality | German |
Born | Lindau |
February 28, 1982
Sport | |
Country | ![]() |
Sport | Biathlon, Cross Country Skiing |
Coached by | Werner Nauber |
Retired | 2011 |
Medal record
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Verena Bentele (born February 28, 1982 in Lindau) is a blind German Paralympic biathlete and cross-country skier. She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind und partially sighted in Marburg, Germany. She won her first Paralympic medals (one gold, two silver, one bronze) at the 1998 Winter Paralympics, followed by four gold medals at the 2002 Winter Paralympics, as well as two gold and one bronze medal at the 2006 Winter Paralympics[1] She was also winner of the Combined World Cup in Biathlon und Cross-Country in 2006.
During the 2009 German blind cross country championship, Bentele had a serious accident. Her sighted guide failed to give proper directions, so she fell down a slope in a dry river bed. She tore a cruciate ligament in her knee, and suffered finger and liver injuries, and damaged one kidney so badly that it had to be removed.
Despite this, only a year later, Verena had her best Olympic result, winning 5 Gold Medals 2010 Winter Paralympics in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics.[2]
Verena has won the "Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability" award for the year 2011. Late in 2011, she announced her retirement at the age of 29.[3] In 2014 Bentele was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame.[4]
References
- ↑ Results for Verena Bentele from the International Paralympic Committee
- ↑ http://www.paralympic.org/press-release/verena-bentele-named-best-female-athlete-ipc
- ↑ http://www.paralympic.org/news/germany-s-top-winter-athlete-bentele-announces-retirement
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Verena Bentele home page, in German
- Total phänomenal: Tastsinn, 15 minute documentary clip on Verena, the sense of touch, and how she uses it to live as a blind person, in German
- [1]
Awards and achievements | ||
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Preceded by | Laureus World Sportsperson with a Disability of the Year 2011 |
Succeeded by![]() |
- Pages with broken file links
- German biathletes
- German cross-country skiers
- Paralympic biathletes of Germany
- Paralympic cross-country skiers of Germany
- Biathletes at the 1998 Winter Paralympics
- Biathletes at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
- Biathletes at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
- Biathletes at the 2010 Winter Paralympics
- Cross-country skiers at the 1998 Winter Paralympics
- Cross-country skiers at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
- Cross-country skiers at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
- Cross-country skiers at the 2010 Winter Paralympics
- Paralympic gold medalists for Germany
- Paralympic silver medalists for Germany
- Paralympic bronze medalists for Germany
- 1982 births
- Living people
- Visually Impaired category Paralympic competitors
- People from Lindau
- Recipients of the Silver Laurel Leaf
- Medalists at the 2010 Winter Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2006 Winter Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2002 Winter Paralympics
- Medalists at the 1998 Winter Paralympics