Peter Genyn ...
An ambassador with a message!
Photo credits: Geert de Rycke
The message is: don't give up!
I have actually been sporty all my life and for me, sport is just very important.
It is an outlet.
I think that counts not only for disabled people but also for able-bodied people.
In 1993, at the age of 16, I plunged into shallow water which left me fairly highly paralysed. So I can no longer move my fingers either. Triceps still work for about a third.
Then you have a choice. Either you sit behind the geraniums and do nothing anymore. Or you make something of your life. And I thought the last one was the best choice after all.
Peter Genyn
Wheelchair racer and Golden Paralympian
Why did we choose Peter Genyn as ambassador of non-profit organisation SuperNils?
Peter has been through a lot of things in his life. It really is a story of trial and error. Just like with many of our patients.
Peter Genyn broke his neck in a diving accident at the age of 16, resulting in paralysis. Peter did not sit back and found his outlet in sport and started playing wheelchair rugby. In this he managed to reach the top and competed in the Paralympics in 2004 and 2012. Then fate struck again and a complex leg fracture forced an early end to his rugby career. Peter then made the switch to wheelchair sprinting which, among other things, has already earned him two gold medals at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 and in Tokyo in 2021, he became World Champion in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2023, European Champion in 2016, 2018 and 2021, winner of the Flemish Sports Jewel in 2016 and Paralympian of the Year in 2017, 2018 and 2021. A record to say "U" to!
Moreover, Peter also gives presentations and interviews on how to keep moving forward in life. This is based on his experiences as a top Paralympic athlete. Here, Peter's strengths play a huge role! He is motivating, inspiring and he has enormous perseverance. And let these be precisely the things, which can also support our patients mentally.
So the choice of Peter Genyn was an easy one. Moreover, he is a fellow villager of "Nils", which makes it even more special.
PEP TALK by Peter
Coming soon… just a little more patience!
A card always does the trick
Patients in our partner hospitals can receive a signed card from Peter. Just to cheer them up.
Photo credits: Geert de Rycke
