Blade Babe to compete at Memorial Van Damme

She will face 100m T44 bronze medallist April Holmes of the USA, who also finished third at the last International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in 2010.

The Belgian Paralympic Committee and the Belgacom Memorial Van Damme have announced that they are to add the fastest female amputee on the planet, Marlou van Rhijn, to an already impressive list of athletes who will compete at the IAAF Diamond League final, which will feature some para-events.

Earlier this year it was announced that the 100m T52 final would also be featured at the event, in which Belgian and Paralympic Champion Marieke Vervoort and Canadian world record holder Michelle Stilwell will go head-head once again in a re-run of the London 2012 final.

Marlou will race in the 200m T43/44 at the King Badoiun Stadium on 6 September 2013. She will face 100m T44 bronze medallist April Holmes of the USA, who also finished third at the last International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in 2010. Also lining up will be Brits Stef Reid and Sophie Kamlish.

Van Rhijn and Holmes will face each other before then at the 2013 Athletics World Championships in Lyon, France from 19-28 July.

The 21 year old double below knee leg amputee, who already held the 100m, 200m and 400m T43 world records, smashed her 100m best with a blistering run of 12.96 seconds at the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in Berlin earlier this month (May).