Danielle Aitchison
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | 16 August 2001 Morrinsville, New Zealand |
| Sport | |
| Country |  New Zealand |
| Sport | Para-athletics |
| Disability | Cerebral palsy |
| Disability class | T36 |
| Club | Hamilton City Hawks Athletics |
Medal record | |
Danielle Aitchison (born 16 August 2001) is a New Zealand para-athlete who is representing her country at the 2020 Summer Paralympics. She competes in the 100 metres and 200 metres in international events.[1][2][3]
Biography
Aitchison was born in Morrinsville in 2001 and grew up in Patetonga in the Hauraki District.[1][4] She attended Kaihere School.[5]
Aitchison was born with severe jaundice, cerebral palsy and 80-90% hearing loss. She has two uncommon types of cerebral palsy: athetoid and ataxia. She has cochlear implants in both ears.[4][5]
While growing up Aitchison participated in ballet, netball and hockey. She began competing in para-athletics at age 16 in 2017, at the Halberg Junior Disability Games in Auckland, New Zealand.[4] She has competed in long jump and won a national title in the event.[5]
In 2019 she represented New Zealand internationally for the first time at the 2019 World Para Athletics Championships in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[4] She finished fourth in the 100m event and won silver in the 200m event with an Oceania record time (29.86sec).[5]
Competing at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in the women's 200 metres T36, Aitchison finished fastest in her heat. In the final, Aitchison won silver with a time of 29.88.[6][7] She also won bronze in the women's 100 metres T36.[8]
References
- ^ a b "Health challenges prove no barrier for Waikato teen Danielle Aitchison". stuff.co.nz. 5 February 2018. Archived from the original on 5 October 2018.
- ^ "Danielle Aitchison - Athletics New Zealand". Athletics New Zealand. 9 March 2020. Archived from the original on 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Teenage Dreams". Athletics New Zealand. 6 June 2019. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Danielle Aitchison - Athletics | Paralympic Athlete Profile". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ a b c d "Tokyo Paralympics: After struggling to walk, NZ sprinter Danielle Aitchison goes for gold". Stuff. 21 August 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Kiwi sprinter Danielle Aitchison claims silver in T36 200m final". Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Sprinter Danielle Aitchison gunning for medal in Tokyo". TVNZ. Retrieved 29 August 2021.
- ^ "Tokyo Paralympics: Danielle Aitchison wins second medal, bronze in women's 100m final". Stuff. 1 September 2021. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
External links
- Danielle Aitchison at Paralympics New Zealand
- {{IPC athlete}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.
- Articles with short description
- Use dmy dates from March 2022
- Use New Zealand English from March 2022
- All Wikipedia articles written in New Zealand English
- IPC athlete template missing ID and not in Wikidata
- 2001 births
- Living people
- People from Morrinsville
- New Zealand female sprinters
- Paralympic athletes of New Zealand
- Paralympic medalists in athletics (track and field)
- Paralympic silver medalists for New Zealand
- Paralympic bronze medalists for New Zealand
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
- Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics
- Sportspeople from Waikato