Liesette Bruinsma

Liesette Bruinsma
Personal information
NationalityDutch
Born (2000-09-09) 9 September 2000
Sport
S11,
ClubHZ&PC Heerenveen
Coached byCasper Hut (club)
Mark Faber (national)
Medal record
Women's para swimming
Representing  Netherlands
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro200 m medley S11
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de Janeiro400 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place2024 Paris400 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2016 Rio de Janeiro100 m breaststroke S11
Silver medal – second place2020 Tokyo400 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2024 Paris100 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place2016 Rio de Janeiro50 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place2016 Rio de Janeiro100 m freestyle S11
World Championships
Gold medal – first place2023 Manchester100 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place2023 Manchester400 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place2025 Singapore100 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2022 Madeira50 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2022 Madeira100 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2023 Manchester50 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2025 Singapore400 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place2022 Madeira400 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place2023 Manchester200 m medley SM11
Bronze medal – third place2025 Singapore50 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place2025 Singapore200 m medley SM11
European Championships
Gold medal – first place2016 Funchal400 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place2016 Funchal100 m breaststroke SB11
Gold medal – first place2016 Funchal200 m find. medley SM11
Gold medal – first place2018 Dublin100 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place2018 Dublin400 m freestyle S11
Gold medal – first place2018 Dublin100 m breaststroke S11
Gold medal – first place2018 Dublin200 m medley S11
Silver medal – second place2016 Funchal50 m freestyle S11
Silver medal – second place2018 Dublin50 m freestyle S11
Bronze medal – third place2016 Funchal100 m freestyle S11

Liesette Bruinsma (born 9 September 2000) is a Dutch Paralympic swimmer.[1] She competes in S11 classification events for athletes with visual impairments. She is the 2016 double Paralympic champion within her classification. She competed at the 2020 Summer Paralympics, in Women's 400 metre freestyle S11, and Women's 100 metre freestyle S11, winning two silver medals.[2]

Swimming career

Bruinsma first competed for the Netherlands at Glasgow in 2014.[3] Her first major international competition was the 2016 IPC Swimming European Championships in Funchal, where she competed in six events, and took a medal in five of them. Three of her Funchal medal's were gold: 400 m freestyle (S11), 100 m breaststroke (SB11) and the 200 m find. medley (SM11).

In the same year, Bruinsma made her Paralympic Games debut, winning five medals including two golds in the 200 metres individual medley and the 400 metres freestyle.[4]

The Netherlands did not send a team to the 2017 World Para Swimming Championships in Mexico city, but Bruinsma dominated at the 2018 World Para Swimming European Championships, winning four gold medals and breaking two world records, taking her tally of European Championships titles to seven.

During the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Bruinsma raised a protest after the women's 50 free final, claiming to have been hindered by the Chinese Li Guizhi.[5][6] The Paralympics organizing committee accepted the protest and decided to cancel the competition and hold a re-swim. This decision led to anger and protest in Chinese social media. The competition was repeated on 29 August 2021, with the same two Chinese swimmers winning the gold and silver again and Bruinsma finishing fourth.[7][8]

References

  1. ↑ "Liesette Bruinsma". Rio 2016 Paralympics. Rio 2016 Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 22 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  2. ↑ "Swimming BRUINSMA Liesette". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 3 September 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  3. ↑ "Bruinsma, Liesette". IPC. Archived from the original on 14 September 2016. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
  4. ↑ "Liesette Bruinsma - Swimming | Paralympic Athlete Profile". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Paralympische zwemfinale 50 meter vrij moet over na protest Bruinsma". NOS (in Dutch). 27 August 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
  6. ↑ "S11 Women's 50 Free Paralympic Final Protested in Tokyo, Re-Swim Required". SwimSwam. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.
  7. ↑ "帕運|中國選手游泳撞到人奪銀牌 組委會收到抗議判決賽重比". Apple Daily Taiwan. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  8. ↑ "Swimming - Women's 50m Freestyle - S11 Schedule". Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Archived from the original on 29 August 2021. Retrieved 3 September 2021.