Michèle George (born 2 January 1974) is a Belgian para-equestrian. She won seven gold and one silver medal at the Paralympic Games.[1]
She was named "Belgian Paralympian of the Year [en]" twice: in 2014[2] and in 2022.[3]
Early life
Michèle George was born on 2 January 1974 in Ostend, West Flanders, Belgium. She started to ride horses in 1982, when she was 12 years old. At first, she tried horse racing, then show jumping, in the end she tried dressage and "fell in love with it".[4]
Career
In 2008, George had a horse-riding accident. Because of that, she got hemiplegia [en] (a paralysis) in her left leg.[5]
She went with her male horse Fbw Rainman at the 2010 World Equestrian Games [en], finishing second.[6]
In 2012, George and Fbw Rainman went to the London Paralympic Games. There, they won two gold medals. George is the first winner of a gold medal in para-dressage for Belgium.[5] In the same year, she also became the first Paralympian to win the Equestrala (Belgium's equestrian of the year award).[7]
With the same horse, she went to the 2014 World Equestrian Games, finishing first two times.[8]
In 2016, she and Fbw Rainman won a gold and a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[1]
She then went from para-dressage grade IV to grade V.
In 2021, George and her new mare (female horse) Best Of 8 went to the Tokyo Paralympic Games, where they won two gold medals.[9]
In 2024, she went to the Paris Paralympic Games, where she won two golds with the same horse.[10]
Personal life
George has two children. She rides horses with one of them.[4]
Related pages
References
Other websites
