Lisa Kruger

Lisa Kruger

Lisa Kruger, Paralympic Champion 100m breaststroke SB9, Rio de Janeiro 2016
Personal information
Birth name	Lisa Kruger
Nationality	Dutch
Born	4 september 2000 Harderwijk, The Netherlands
Residence	Harderwijk, The Netherlands
Education	High School
Website	www.lisakruger.nl
Sport
Country	The Netherlands
Sport	Swimming
Disability	In 2006 she broke her left arm after falling from a wall, resulting in a condition known as Madelung's deformity(MD). Her left arm is seven centimeters shorter than her right arm. She also has 70% less power in her left arm and has impaired range of motion in her left wrist and lower arm. (lisakruger.nl)
Disability class	S10 / SB9 / SM10
Event(s)	Her main event is the 100m breaststroke. She also competes in the 50 and 100m freestyle, the 100m backstroke and the 200m Individual Medley.
Club	ZPC Amersfoort, The Netherlands
Coached by	Sander Nijhuis (national) Kira Fijn (School). Former coaches: Jeanet Mulder(national), Mark Faber(national), Corrie van Gent (Woelwaters)
Achievements and titles
World finals	2015 IPC World Championships, Glascow 200m Individual Medley SM10, 2:35.45, 7th place. 100m Breaststroke SB9, DSQ. 100m Backstroke S10, 1:10.39, 5th place
Paralympic finals	Paralympic Games 2016, Rio de Janeiro 100m Breaststroke SB9, 1:15.49, 1st place. 100m Backstroke S10, 1:10.59, 5th place. 200m Individual Medley SM10, 2:32.81, 4th place. 100m Freestyle S10, 1:02.67, 5th place. 4 x 100m Medley Relay 34 Points 5:13.32, 6th place

Lisa Kruger (born 4 September 2000) is a Dutch swimmer who is a member of the Dutch Paralympic team.

She competes in the S10/SB9/SM10 classifications and her best event is the SB9 100 m breaststroke, winning the Paralympic gold medal and breaking a World and Paralympic record (1.15.47) at the Summer Paralympics in Rio the Janeiro, on 8 September 2016.

Kruger was born healthy in 2000, but in 2006 she fell from a wall, breaking several bones in her left arm. She had surgery which appeared to be successful. She then started with modern pentathlon (a sport where you compete in running, swimming, fencing, shooting and horseback riding). At 8 years old, she finished in 3rd place at the Dutch Youth Championships.

Her left arm started giving her more and more burden and pain and the arm started to grow crooked. She had less and less movement in her left arm and noticed that, in relation to her right arm, the left arm seemed to be shorter. She had to return to the hospital and there they discovered that the epiphysis of the radius was so damaged during her fall, that one bone was no longer growing. Because the other bones in her arm are still growing, her left arm is growing crooked. This growth disorder is also known as Madelung's deformity. Only, in Kruger's case, the disorder is caused by a trauma and is not a hereditary or congenital defect. Because of these problems she had to undergo multiple surgeries, including an operation to extend the bone, where a pin was inserted to the non-growing bone, with a swivel mechanism on the outside. For three months she had to tighten the screws every day, in order to slightly lengthen the bone. This radical surgery did not do what the doctors hoped for and the doctor declared her inoperable in August 2014. As far as trying to extend the non-growing bone, the bone had been pushed over her carpal bones, which only caused her to have less movement in her wrist. So she has limited movement in her wrist, she can not turn her arm, can not put any pressure on her arm and can not hang on it. Her left arm is now about 7 centimetres shorter than the right arm and her left hand is a little bit smaller than her right hand. She has virtually no strength in her left hand and therefore 70% less strength in her left arm in comparison to her right arm. Until she stops growing she has to have, regular check-ups at the Erasmus hospital in Rotterdam, to see if there is a need for emergency surgery because of the imbalance. But it will never be all right again.