DORSMAN Rogier

Classification
S11, SB11, SM11 (IPC, 09 Mar 2021)

Type of Impairment
Vision impairment (oogopnederland.nl, 28 Oct 2015)

Impairment Details
He began to lose his vision in 2012 as the result of choroideremia. The condition, which mainly affects males, causes a person's sight to worsen progressively. (ad.nl, 19 Jul 2018; oogopnederland.nl, 28 Oct 2015)

General
CLASSIFICATION CHANGE
In 2019 he was reclassified to S11. "I have been tested in Berlin and will be in the S11 class for the next four years. This means that I have to swim in all competitions wearing blind goggles." (rogierdorsman.nl, 30 Dec 2019)

STUDIES ON HOLD
He put his sports marketing studies at the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences, as part of the Johan Cruyff Academy, on hold to focus on preparing for the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo. "I started that academic year [2018/19] with two mornings of classes, and I was training the rest of the week in Amersfoort. But in 2019 I paused my studies to prepare full-time for the Paralympic Games in Tokyo. I hope to be able to continue my studies after Tokyo." (rogierdorsman.nl, 30 Dec 2019)

CONDITION
He said the combination of his retinal and optic nerve conditions is unheard of in the Netherlands, making it impossible for doctors to predict when he will completely lose his sight. "There is a retinal disease in our family called choroidalemia. It is a genetic condition in which holes occur in several layers of the retina, making it impossible to perform a retinal transplant. Unfortunately, there is nothing yet we can do about it. For most people this disease starts at around age 40 to 50, but I was only 13 when it started. They also discovered that I have a gene disorder of the optic nerve, the OPA1 gene disorder. I am the first in the Netherlands to have this combination, so there is no experience to predict what my future is. It may well be tomorrow, next week, next month, or next year that I completely lose my vision. No one can say, but I know my future is total blindness." His personal website contains a series of images showing the gradual deterioration of his vision from his point of view. (rogierdorsman.nl, 30 Dec 2019)