Decaesstecker Named Belgian Paralympic Athlete of the Year

Sven Decaesstecker has been named Belgian Paralympic Athlete of the Year this past weekend at the Sports Gala 2010 in Ostend, Belgium.

More than 200 members of the Belgium press elected Decaesstecker, who had won a bronze medal at the 2010 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, in August.

The 25 year old, who lost his right lower leg to cancer at the age of 11, was the first Paralympic athlete in Belgium to receive this honour. In respect to the 50th anniversary of the Belgium Paralympic Committee, the award was added to the Sportsman and Sportswoman of the Year awards.

After narrowly missing a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Beijing in 2008, Decaesstecker is now looking ahead to the London 2012 Paralympic Games, where he wants to win his first Paralympic medal.

Cyclist Philippe Gilbert was named Sportsman of the Year, while tennis player Kim Clijsters was named Sportswoman of the Year.