Paralympic legend's devastating reason for choosing to end her life with assisted suicide

Paralympic legend's devastating reason for choosing to end her life with assisted suicideHer last wish was to go to the Rio Olympics, then she made an announcement that left her fans devastated. Share Article Share Article Facebook X LinkedIn Reddit Bluesky Email Copy Link Link copied Bookmark Add us as preferred source Comments By Emilia Randall 07:00, Mon, Jun 1, 2026 The Rio Olympics were her 'last wish' (Image: Getty)A multi-medal winning Paralympic athlete whose devastating condition only worsened over the years said the Rio Olympics was her “last wish” before giving a tragic explanation for signing up for euthanasia. window.scriptsToLoad.push({url:'https://live.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?s=118222&vp_content=plembed3a6btjknzwqh&cbuster=%%CACHEBUSTER%%&playerApiId=v118222',triggeredBy:'tcfLoaded',delay:1500,containerId:'ovp-primis',title:"Primis player",beforeLoad:()=>{window.top.addEventListener('primisPlayerInit',e=>{try{if(e.detail&&e.detail.playerApiId==="v118222"){if(window.document.getElementsByClassName('jwplayer')[0]){e.detail.float('disable')}}}catch(e){}})},}) Marieke Vervoort was 33-years-old when she won her first Paralympic medal, winning silver at the 200m at the London 2012 Paralympic Games . Article continues below ADVERTISEMENT Get the day's biggest headlines in UK and World news and more Subscribe Invalid emailWe use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy PolicyThe Belgian Paralympic athlete suffered from reflex sympathetic dystrophy, which constitutes severe chronic and ongoing pain in the limbs.Over her career she swept up a number of medals.Then, in 2016 she said she was considering euthanasia. She told the BBC: "My mind says yes, go further, you still can do it. But my body cries, says help, stop training, you break me." Article continues below AD...