BENSUSAN Irmgard

Date of Birth: 24 Jan 1991

Age: 30

Gender: Female

Sport Class: T44

Place of birth: CENTURION

Birth Country:

South Africa

Place of residence : LEVERKUSEN

Residence Country:

Germany

Events and Medals
Records
Schedule
Bio
General Interest
Milestones

Events and Medals

Discipline	Event	Rank	Medal
Athletics	Women's 100m - T64	2
	Women's 200m - T64	2

Records

Record	Event	Mark	Date	Location

Schedule

Start Time	Location	Event	Status
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 200m - T64 Round 1 - Heat 2	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 200m - T64 Final	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 100m - T64 Round 1 - Heat 1	Finished
	Olympic Stadium - Track	Women's 100m - T64 Final	Finished

Biographical Information

Highlights

Rank	Event	Year	Location	Result
Paralympic Games
2	100m - T44	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	13.04
2	200m - T44	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	26.90
2	400m - T44	2016	Rio de Janeiro, BRA	59.62
World Championships
1	100m - T64	2019	Dubai, UAE	12.86
1	200m - T64	2019	Dubai, UAE	26.93
1	400m - T44	2017	London, GBR	1:02.33
2	200m - T44	2017	London, GBR	27.13
2	400m - T44	2015	Doha, QAT	1:03.27
4	100m - T44	2017	London, GBR	13.35
4	200m - T44	2015	Doha, QAT	27.33
DNS	100m - T44	2015	Doha, QAT	DNS
European Championships
2	100m - T64	2018	Berlin, GER	13.09
2	200m - T64	2018	Berlin, GER	26.84

Aunt Irmie, Irmchen, Irm (Facebook profile, 11 Oct 2020; tellerreport.com, 13 Nov 2019)

Occupation:

Accounting - University of Johannesburg, South Africa

Languages spoken:

Afrikaans, English, German

TSV Bayer 04 Leverkusen [Germany]

Karl-Heinz Due [club]; Marion Peters [national]

Other sports:

She was a junior hurdler and sprinter at national level in South Africa in able-bodied athletics before her injury in 2009. (sport1.de, 28 Oct 2015)

2014 for Germany, European Championships in Swansea, Great Britain (Athlete, 17 Jul 2017)

In 2017 she was sidelined for six weeks with a foot injury but recovered in time to compete at that year's world championships in London, England, where she won gold in the T44 400m. (eurosport.de, 16 Jul 2017; wdr.de, 12 Jul 2017)

She began running at age four in South Africa. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

She followed her sister into the sport. After her accident she wanted to return to running so she took up Para athletics. "Running has been my dream since I was four. [After the recovery] I called my former trainer, I said I want to do it again, that I do not care if I'm going to be the last or just 20 seconds slower. The main thing is that I'm running." (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; morgenpost.de, 21 Aug 2018)

To compete at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (morgenpost.de, 21 Aug 2018)

Winning silver in the T44 400m at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

South African Para swimmer Natalie Du Toit. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Her family. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Philosophy:

"Run with your heart not your legs." (Athlete, 17 Jul 2017)

In 2019 she was named Para Athlete of the Year in Germany. (dw.com, 06 Jan 2020)

General Interest

Classification
T44, F44 (IPC, 11 Mar 2021)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019)

Impairment Details
In 2009 she damaged a nerve in her lower right leg while competing as a hurdler. The injury resulted in paralysis below the knee. "I started out as a non-disabled person for South Africa for many years. I got injured when I got stuck on a hurdle at our national championships and I've had a drop foot since then. Every time I see someone around a hurdle, I have to look away." (dw.com, 06 Jan 2020; northcliffmelvilletimes.co.za, 02 Apr 2015; deutsche-paralympische-mannschaft.de, 12 Feb 2015; fanvondir.de, 2021)

General
SOUTH AFRICA TO GERMANY
She received certification as a Para athlete at provincial level in South Africa, but was unable to get certified at national level, which prevented her from competing at the South African national championships. As a result she moved to Germany, where her mother was born, and earned classification there ahead of the 2014 Grand Prix in Berlin. Speaking in 2020 she said the thought of classification still disturbs her. "I still think about it. If I hear that I have to go for a classification, I start getting the jitters. I really don't want to go for classification ever again. I have been classified after that [2014] twice, both confirmed. But every time, it is such a stressful moment." (dw.com, 06 Jan 2020; sport1.de, 28 Oct 2015)

SCHLUFFI
She calls her impaired leg 'Schluffi'. "If I do something wrong with my right leg, the trainer would shout, 'Pull up the slack'. And if something doesn't work, Schluffi was to blame. I say, 'It's Schluffi's fault. It's not my fault. I'm not being slow, it's Schluffi'." (dw.com, 06 Jan 2020; tellerreport.com, 13 Nov 2019; wn.de, 09 Nov 2019)

OCCUPATION
She works as an auditor at KPMG AG Wirtschaftsprufungsgesellschaft in Germany. (dw.com, 06 Jan 2020)

Social Media

Legend

:: Silver Medal
:: Gold Medal Event
:: Silver Medal Event
:: Bronze Medal Event

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