BRUINSMA Liesette

Classification
S11, SB11, SM11 (IPC, 08 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (paralympic.org, 12 Jan 2016)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (lc.nl, 19 Dec 2015)

General
STUDIES
She says swimming helped give her confidence in other areas of her life, like study. "Through swimming, I learned to try new things. I was not good at English in high school, but by doing it more often and indicating that I needed extra guidance, I was able to pass my exams. I am now studying psychology, which is largely in English, at the Open University. I can do that at my own pace and mostly online. It is a lot slower than normal, but I like doing something besides my sport. I like to learn." (gehandicaptensport.nl, 09 Oct 2019; teamnl.org, 28 Sep 2019; Instagram profile, 29 Oct 2020)

BIRTHDAY SILVER
At the 2019 World Championships in London, England, she won a silver medal in the S11 50m freestyle on the same day as her 19th birthday. "It went very well. It was the best birthday present ever." (omropfryslan.nl, 09 Sep 2019)

OTHER ACTIVITIES
She is an ambassador for the Gehandicaptensport Netherlands foundation, for which she has taught introductory Para swimming classes. Dutch film director Jesse Bleekemolen worked on a documentary about her training in the lead-up to the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. (paralympic.org, 26 Feb 2018; telegraaf.nl, 02 Jan 2018; gehandicaptensport.nl, 09 Oct 2019)