SCHIEL Laura

Classification
K44 (World Taekwondo, 27 May 2020)

Type of Impairment
Limb deficiency (mairie-etampes.fr, 18 Nov 2011)

Origin of Impairment
Congenital (mairie-etampes.fr, 18 Nov 2011)

Impairment Details
She was born without her right arm. (mairie-etampes.fr, 18 Nov 2011)

General
DELAYED RETIREMENT
She initially planned to retire from the sport after the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo but was forced to delay her retirement plans after the one-year postponement of the Games. "Most of the time I felt anger due to the postponement. Even if I understood that it was necessary, I kept on telling myself that it was not fair. I was already looking the end of the tunnel when it suddenly closed again. If I hadn't had my psychologist I would have fallen into depression. Financially, it means one more year to live with 500 Euros, that's like being jobless. Continuing for one more year also means having to look after the body, the joints, knees, legs. After some discussions with my inner circle, the balance tilted towards the Games. After all the times that I had sacrificed my life in order to go to the Games, I'll stay one more year. I told myself that the hardest part has already been done. [I'll go the Games] so I won't have any regrets of having stopped so close to the goal." (sport.francetvinfo.fr, 21 May 2020)

HARD TRANSITION
She says she found difficult to adapt to Para taekwondo as she had always trained and competed alongside able-bodied taekwondo athletes. "I heard about Para taekwondo for the first time in 2009. From that moment on I was no longer allowed to compete against able-bodied. As a person I felt terribly bad about this transition experience. Overnight I became impaired. As I have always been competitive, I accepted my new status with rage. That same year I won the gold medal at the world championships." (mairie-etampes.fr, 18 Nov 2011)

She became the first female Para taekwondo athlete to win gold at the world championships when she claimed victory in the open -67kg event at the inaugural edition of the tournament in 2009 in Baku, Azerbaijan. (SportsDeskOnline, 27 May 2020)