Lisa Llorens

Lisa Christina Llorens, OAM[1](born 17 January 1978)[2] is an Australian Paralympic athlete. She was born in Canberra.[2] She specialises in Paralympic high jumping, long jumping, and sprinting, participating in competitions for athletes with autism.[3]

Lisa Llorens
Portrait of Llorens at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Medal record
Athletics
Paralympic Games
1996 AtlantaWomen's Long Jump MH
2000 SydneyWomen's 200m T20
2000 SydneyWomen's High Jump F20
2000 SydneyWomen's Long Jump F20
2000 SydneyWomen's 100m T20
1996 AtlantaWomen's 200m MH
IPC Athletics World Championships
1998 BirminghamWomen's 100m T20
1998 BirminghamWomen's Long Jump F20
1998 BirminghamWomen's High Jump F20
2002 LilleWomen's Long Jump F20
1994 BerlinWomen's 200m T20
1994 BerlinWomen's Long Jump T20
2002 LilleWomen's 100m T20
Llorens on the podium with her gold medal won in the 200 m T20 race at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Llorens on the starting blocks during race competition at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Australian athletics coaches Brett Jones (left) and Chris Nunn congratulate athletes Lisa Llorens (left, bronze medallist) and Sharon Rackham (gold medallist) after the T20 200m at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games

Llorens is known as "The Cheetah" because she has a great affinity with cheetahs. She commented "I feel like I have a connection with the cheetahs, because I'm quite shy, like a cat, and I run so fast." An educational documentary was made about her called Lisa Llorens: A Cheetah on the Track.[4] From 1998 to 2002, she held an athletics scholarship from the Australian Institute of Sport for Athletes with a Disability.[5]

Llorens competed at the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, winning gold and bronze medals in track and field events.[6][7] She received a Medal of the Order of Australia for her 1996 gold medal.[1] She also represented Australia at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney, and won three gold medals in the 200 metre sprint, the high jump, and the long jump, and a silver medal in the 100 metre sprint.[8] She broke the Paralympic world record three times during her four long jumps.[9]

Llorens also competed at the IPC Athletics World Championships in 1994, winning silver in both the long jump and the 200m; and in 1998, won gold in the 100m, high jump, and long jump .[10] She took part in the Paralympic World Cup in 1998, winning gold in the 100 metre sprint, the high jump and the long jump.[11] In 2004, due to the International Paralympic Committee's decision to remove events for intellectually disabled athletes from its official activities, Llorens retired, as she felt that there was nothing left for her to achieve in sport.[12]

The Australian Paralympic Committee describes her as "Australia’s most outstanding female athlete with an intellectual disability", along with Crystal-Lea Adams.[13] In 1997, she was awarded the Australian Capital Territory Female Sportstar of the Year,[14] and Young Canberra Citizen of the Year.[15] In November 2015, she was inducted into the ACT Sport Hall of Fame.[16] In 2016, Llorens was induced into the International Sports Federation for Persons with Intellectual Disability (INAS) Hall of Fame.[17]

References
  1. "Llorens, Lisa Christina". It's an Honour. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  2. Australian Media Guide : 2000 Paralympic Games Sydney. Sydney: Australian Paralympic Committee. 2000. p. 30.
  3. Flanagan, Martin (11 May 2013). "Making a difference". The Sydney Morning Herald. Sydney, Australia. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  4. Barrett, Neil (2001). Lisa Llorens : cheetah on the track (Video). Video Education Australasia.
  5. Excellence : the Australian Institute of Sport. Canberra: Australian Sports Commission. 2002. p. 122. ISBN 1-74013-060-X.
  6. Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Hansard, 25 June 1996 Archived 21 December 2010 at WebCite
  7. Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Hansard, 4 September 1996 Archived 21 December 2010 at WebCite
  8. "Athletics - Achievements", Australian Institute of Sport Archived 21 December 2010 at WebCite
  9. "Athlete of the hour", CNN, 27 October 2000 Archived 21 December 2010 at WebCite
  10. "Sport", Disability Services Australia Ltd Archived 21 December 2010 at WebCite
  11. "Athletics - Achievements", Australian Institute of Sport Archived 21 December 2010 at WebCite
  12. "Cheetah starts her final chase". Asia Africa Intelligence Wire. 28 February 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2012.
  13. "2005 INAS-FID World Athletics Championships, Day 1, 26/Sept/2005", Australian Paralympic Committee, 28 September 2005
  14. "Australian Capital Territory Sportstar of the Year Honour Roll". ACTSPORT Website. Archived from the original on 10 February 2012. Retrieved 10 February 2012.
  15. "Past Winners". Young Canberra Citizen of the Year. Retrieved 12 February 2012.
  16. Gul, Jonathon (23 November 2015). "Nine Canberra athletes added to ACT Sport Hall of Fame". ABC News. Retrieved 30 November 2015.
  17. "Three new members inducted to INAS Hall of Fame". International Paralympic Committee website. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
Australian T20 athletes Sharon Rackham (centre, gold medal) and Lisa Llorens (right, bronze medal) on the medal dais after the 200m at the 1996 Atlanta Paralympic Games
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.