A Paralympic athlete who plans to win gold in Rio is considering ending her life after the Games due to an agonising spinal disease that leaves her unable to sleep.
Marieke Vervoot, 37, a Belgian athlete, suffers from an incurable spinal degenerative disease that has left her confined to a wheelchair.
But despite the condition she has become one of the world's leading Paralympians, winning gold in the 100m sprint and silver in 200m in the T52 class at the London Paralympics in 2012.
And now she is hoping to repeat that success when the Rio event starts on Wednesday, which she has already ruled will be her last Paralympics.
However, her health problems have been progressively deteriorating, and have now reached a point, where Vervoot says she will now consider enuthanasia.
And after the Games in Rio, she will head back to her native Belgium to weigh up her options after deciding that ending her life could be the only choice left.
She told the Daily Express: 'I have a bucket list, including stunt flying, and I have started thinking about euthanasia.'
Vervoot's health problems began in 2000 when she was struck down by the rare disease, which paralysed her.
Euthanasia was legalised in Belgium in 2002, and can take place with the written consent of three doctors.
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