| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationality | Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1978-01-03)3 January 1978 (age 47) Tongeren, Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Country |  Belgium | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Boccia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Pieter Cilissen (born January 3, 1978) is a Belgian Paralympian andBoccia player. His active playing career started in 1997 at the age of 19 and ended in 2019 at the age of 41, making his career of 22 years at the international stage a near unicum.[1] His first Paralympics wasSydney 2000 where he finished 5th in the Pairs withJean-Luc Béro.[1] He missedAthens 2004 andBeijing 2008 but inLondon 2012, he won a bronze medal inboccia for mixed pairs BC3.[1] Cilissen also competed in the2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro but failed to get a medal.[2]
Due to an oxygen defect at birth, Cilissen suffers from cerebral palsy, which leaves him incapable of controlling the movement of arms and legs and impediments his speech. He lives inSint-Pieters-Woluwe.[3]
At the 2010 Boccia World Championships in Lisbon, he won a bronze medal in the Pairs BCS together withKirsten De Laender andPieter Verlinden.[1]
At the 2012 Summer Paralympics, in London, he won a bronze medal inPairs BC3, withKirsten De Laender andPieter Verlinden.[4][5] H also competed in Mixed Individual BC3 but was eliminated in the 1/8th final.[6]
At the 2015 Boccia European Team and Pairs Championships, inGuildford, Great-Britain, Cilisson won the Pairs competition together withKenneth Verwimp andJulie Lambrechts.[2]
At the 2016 Summer Paralympics, he competed inBoccia Mixed Pairs BC3.[7]
In 2013, Cilissen received Brussel'sBronze Zinneke, an award given to people who contribute to the image of Brussels. He was the first Paralympic athlete to receive the award. He is now officially an "Ambassador of Brussels", following in the footsteps of such other famous Brussels athletes asEddy Merckx,Paul Van Himst,Vincent Kompany etc.[3]
In February 2016, Cilissen received Belgium'sTrophy Victor Boin, the firstBoccia player to receive the award.[8]
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