Laurens Devos, a young Belgian barely 23 years old, is a true example of inspiration. At first glance, there is nothing to suggest what makes him exceptional. Yet, as a result of oxygen deprivation at birth with subsequent cerebral palsy, Laurens has a form of haemiplegia. While this disability is challenging for the young man, it has given him a clear determination.
Laurens Devos and his twin sister are born prematurely on 15 August 2000 in Malle, Belgium. While his sister fully recovers from this premature birth, Laurens has some difficulty breathing and is therefore transferred to another hospital to receive the best care before being reunited with his mother and sister. At 7 months of age, unlike other babies of the same age, little Laurens cannot yet sit up independently and constantly keeps his right hand clenched. A brain scan reveals dead brain cells and confirms the diagnosis of cerebral palsy due to lack of oxygen at birth.
Laurens and his family then start a rehabilitation process with numerous visits to the physiotherapist to boost the young child's psychomotor functions. Despite doctors' predictions that Laurens would learn slower than other children his age, he learns to ride a bike and even surpasses his twin sister, already demonstrating exceptional determination.
To walk, Laurens first wore prosthetics to help him walk correctly, as he otherwise tended to put his right foot in front of his left, causing him to stumble. Today, after years of training and physiotherapy, Laurens Devos no longer needs prosthetics and moves only with the help of orthopaedic soles.
Sport has always been present in Laurens' life. As a child, he first rode horses for a few years, as the warmth of the horse's body was beneficial in relieving his leg muscle spasms. But it is table tennis that holds an important place in his life. At the age of 5-6, inspired by his two older brothers, Laurens joins the family parties. He soon joins his brother Robin's training sessions, where he is coached and makes tremendous progress in both game insight and psychomotor skills.
This new world of table tennis sparks a dream in Laurens: the desire to join his brother at the Top Sports School in Leuven. Despite doubts from some members of the Flemish Table Tennis League about his legitimacy at the Top Sports School because of his handicap, Laurens puts in extra effort to prove his abilities. His promising results in the youth category eventually lead to his admission to the Topsportschool Redingenhof in Leuven.
For Laurens, this event marks a turning point in his life, giving him the chance to show his potential and talent, despite his disability, in the disabled player category.
It is during a league match that Laurens Devos encounters a disabled player for the first time. He then discovers the existence of a circuit for disabled players and joins G-Sport Vlaanderen, the association for sportsmen with disabilities. Since then, Laurens has participated in both circuits: that of able-bodied players and that of disabled players.
To maintain his skills at the highest level, Laurens follows intensive training with eight table tennis sessions a week and three fitness sessions at Basic-Fit Rijkevorsel, combining strength and stability exercises. As icing on the cake, he also cycles twice a week.
In 2016, all his efforts will be rewarded when he participates in the Paralympic Games in Rio. There, supported by his family and the doctors who have followed him since birth, Laurens wins the gold medal, marking the happiest moment of his young career. Today, Laurens has only one goal: the Paris Paralympic Games in 2024, where he will have to defend his Paralympic titles from Rio and Tokyo.
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