Marc Evers


Marc Evers is a Dutch Paralympic swimmer. He swims in S14 and SB14 classification events, specializing in both backstroke and breaststroke competitions. He is a Paralympic, World and European champion in the 100m breaststroke.

Personal history

Evers was born in Hillegom, Netherlands in 1991. He has autism.

Swimming career

Evers learnt to swim at the age of four. At the age of twelve he began competitive swimming and won several national youth titles. Initially he found it difficult to find a swimming club that would coach him due to his intellectual disability. Eventually he joined ZV Haerlem, where he met trainer Wim Ten Wolde. In 2007 Evers was selected for the Netherlands national swimming team.
In December 2011, at the Open Dutch Championships in Eindhoven, he qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. At London, on 31 August, he won the gold medal in the 100m backstroke setting a world record time. Six days later he took the bronze medal in the 100m breaststroke. When Evers took the gold in the backstroke he became the first athlete with an intellectual disability to win a medal since Sydney 2000.