Lisa Llorens

Lisa Llorens
Portrait of Llorens at the 2000 Summer Paralympics
Medal record
Athletics
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Women's Long Jump MH
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Women's 200m T20
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Women's High Jump F20
Gold medal – first place 2000 Sydney Women's Long Jump F20
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Women's 100m T20
Bronze medal – third place 1996 Atlanta Women's 200m MH
IPC Athletics World Championships
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Women's 100m T20
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Women's Long Jump F20
Gold medal – first place 1998 Birmingham Women's High Jump F20
Gold medal – first place 2002 Lille Women's Long Jump F20
Silver medal – second place 1994 Berlin Women's 200m T20
Silver medal – second place 1994 Berlin Women's Long Jump T20
Silver medal – second place 2002 Lille Women'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

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]

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

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  1. ^ a b "Llorens, Lisa Christina". It's an Honour. Archived from the original on 28 November 2020. Retrieved 12 January 2012.
  2. ^ a b 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 1 April 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  7. ^ Legislative Assembly for the ACT, Hansard, 4 September 1996 Archived 29 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  8. ^ "Athletics - Achievements", Australian Institute of Sport Archived 24 July 2012 at archive.today
  9. ^ "Athlete of the hour", CNN, 27 October 2000
  10. ^ "Sport", Disability Services Australia Ltd Archived 7 February 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ "Athletics - Achievements", Australian Institute of Sport Archived 24 July 2012 at archive.today
  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" Archived 19 July 2008 at the Wayback Machine, 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. Archived from the original on 5 July 2012. 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.
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Lisa Llorens.
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
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