- Sven Decaesstecker
Sven "Rocker" Decaesstecker (
31 may 1985 ,Torhout ) is a Belgian swimmer and Paralympic Athlete.Biography
Decaesstecker has been a participant in local competitions since he was eight. As a young swimmer Decaesstecker won both regional and national titles.
At age eleven, Decaesstecker was diagnosed with
bone cancer . After one year ofchemotherapy and theamputation of his right foot, he started swimming again. He trained for both the disabled league and the able-bodied swimming club inOstend . His new coach there wasStefaan Maene , an ex-Olympic swimmer that participated in the1992 Summer Olympics inBarcelona . In the Royal Ostend Swimming Club, Decaesstecker was reunited with Mathieu Fonteyn, with whom he was close friends at the beginning of his swimming career at the age of 8. There have been some changes at the Royal Ostend Swimming Club, swimmers like Mathieu Fonteyn and Brian Ryckeman that are now among the top of Belgian swimming left the club. Stefaan Maene left as head coach and Guy Verhelst followed. Two years later the new Head Coach was Patrick Boucquaert, it was with Boucquaert that Decaesstecker went to the2004 Paralympic Games in Athens.In 2005 Greg Planckaert became the club's new head coach and took Decaesstecker to the World Championships in
Durban ,South Africa in 2006. The next goal for Planckaert and Decaesstecker is to qualify for the2008 Paralympic Games inBeijing , and the first Paralympic Short Course World Championships in 2009.Personal
Decaesstecker is working towards a
bachelor's degree inpolitical science with a major in national politics atGhent University .His studies have led him to participate in the 2006 elections for city council in his hometown of
Kortemark , as a candidate for theVLD and as a member of the majority.He is a representative on the Belgian Paralympic Committee, where he was elected as chairman of the Athlete's Board.
Competition
The first International Paralympic competition Decaesstecker went to was the European Championships in
Brauwnschweig ,Germany in 1999. He made it as a youngster (14 years old) into the finals of the 100 m breaststroke, 200 m individual medley and 400 m freestyle.His next competition was the next European Championships in
Stockholm ,Sweden in 2001. Again he made the finals in the 100 m backstroke, 400 m freestyle, 200 m individual medley and won the bronze medal on 100 m breaststroke.One year later at the World Championships in
Mar del Plata ,Argentina in 2002 he made it into the finals in the 100 m breaststroke (5th place), 100 m backstroke (6th place) and 200 m individual medley (5th place).2003 was the year where qualification for the next Paralympic Games in Athens was important. Decaesstecker tried to swim his qualifying time at international competitions.
At the
2004 Summer Paralympics inAthens ,Greece Decaesstecker went for a medal in the 200 m individual medley and 100 m breaststroke. The goals that Decaesstecker set for himself proved to be too ambitious. Again he made it to the finals in the 100 m breaststroke (5th place), 200 m individual medley (5th place) and 100 m backstroke (6th place).At the next Paralympic Swimming World Championships in
Durban ,South Africa in 2006 Decaesstecker was again going for the medal that he had been seeking for some years. With the second best time on the starting list on the 200 m individual medley it seemed more possible than ever. Decaesstecker again made it to the finals three times, but did not come close to his personal best time on any stroke. He finished 6th in the 200 m individual medley, 7th in the 100 m backstroke, and 8th in the 100 m breaststroke.After these disappointing World Championships, Decaesstecker is determined to qualify for the next Paralympic Games in
Beijing ,China in 2008 where he will once again try to win a Paralympic medal.On his quest to swim the new Paralympic Qualifying time set by the Belgian Paralympic Committee (qualifying time for the 200IM is 2.21.10), Sven already swam 2.19.99 in the 200 m IM during the Belgian Championships for able-bodied swimmers in
Antwerp in August 2007. Sven now has to prove his shape by swimming again under that qualifying time beforeApril 1 2008 .External links
* [http://www.gripvzw.be/video/Def.%20TV-spot.mpg Video of Belgian Equal Rights Campaign by GRIP]
* [http://www.myspace.com/svendecaesstecker Official MySpace by Sven Decaesstecker]
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