Kris Vriend
Canadian Paralympic athlete
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kris Vriend (born 23 June 1972) is a Canadian retired Paralympic track and field athlete who competed primarily in F35 classification throwing events.[1][2]
23 June 1972
Canada| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | Kris Vriend 23 June 1972 Edmonton, Alberta, Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.58 m (5 ft 2 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 64 kg (141 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Canada | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Paralympic athletics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability | Cerebral palsy | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| F35 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Ian Maplethorpe | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Early life
Vriend attended Edmonton Christian High School in Edmonton, Alberta.[3] On 3 December 1989, at age 17, she was involved in a motor vehicle accident while driving to church. She sustained a severe brain injury, spent approximately one month in a coma, and later underwent rehabilitation to relearn walking and speech.[3] In 1993, Vriend's eligibility for Alberta's Assured Income for the Severely Handicapped (AISH) program became the subject of public attention after her benefits were terminated and subsequently reinstated before a scheduled appeal hearing.[4]
Athletics career
Vriend began competing in para-athletics in the early 1990s. At the 1994 World Track and Field Championships for Athletes with a Disability in Berlin, she won the women's C6 shot put with a throw of 6.16 metres.[5]
She represented Canada at the 1996 Summer Paralympics, winning a bronze medal in the discus throw. She subsequently competed in the 2000 Summer Paralympics, 2004 Summer Paralympics, and 2008 Summer Paralympics.[1] At the 2002 IPC World Athletics Championships in Lille, France, Vriend won the shot put and finished second in the discus.[3][6] By 2004, she held the world record in her shot put classification with a mark of 8.19 metres, set at the Parapan American Games in Argentina.[7]
.svg){kind=small}
