KRAWZOW Elena

Classification
S12, SB12, SM12 (IPC, 16 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (Athlete, 15 Aug 2018)

Origin of Impairment
Acquired (morgenpost.de, 11 Jun 2016)

Impairment Details
She was diagnosed with Stargardt disease at age seven, and retains around 7% vision. (morgenpost.de, 11 Jun 2016)

General
RIO DISAPPOINTMENT
She was disappointed with her performance in the SB13 100m breaststroke final at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, in which she finished fifth. She said that as a result, she struggled for motivation after the Games, and that she began to focus more on the mental side of the sport. "At that time [the 2016 Games] the pressure was incredible for me, and I just couldn't deliver my performance. That was a big defeat for me at that moment, and it also took me a long time to deal with it, to find my motivation again. It felt like everything was going down the drain. I had never learned to lose before. It took me a whole season after that to figure out for myself what I actually want and how I should go on. However, I have now also learned through mental training to deal better with these expectations." (abendzeitung-muenchen.de, 30 Oct 2020)

PLAYBOY COVER
In September 2020 she became the first Paralympian to appear on the cover of Playboy magazine, when she featured in the German edition of the publication. "I couldn't turn down this opportunity. With the shoot, I want to set an example for more tolerance in society, so that people with a disability can create anything and not hide, even if you are not like most people, because not every disability is seen at first glance. Diversity is part of society and tolerance helps us all. The interest was really amazing. It has been reported around the world. I've had so much positive feedback. Women and men who thanked me because I showed that you don't have to be perfect to be satisfied with yourself. I come from a conservative family, so of course it was a shock for them. I talked to my mother about it three days before it came out. She was behind me, she thought it was a great statement from me to be the first Paralympic athlete on the cover of Playboy. But my father had to swallow. It was also hard for my relatives in Kazakhstan, they didn't understand why I did it." (abendzeitung-muenchen.de, 30 Oct 2020; Instagram profile, 09 Sep 2020; insidethegames.biz, 24 Sep 2020)

FROM KAZAKHSTAN TO GERMANY
Born in Kazakhstan, she moved to Germany at age 12 with her family. (bvs-bayern.com, 15 Dec 2013; YouTube, 23 Jan 2013)