She is called the Blade Babe. Understandly so. Marlou Van Rhijn is a Paralympic, World and European Champion and a world-record holder.
In the Qatari capital for the Doha 2015 IPC Athletics World Championship, the Dutch sprinter will be looking to add to her accolades when she competes in the 100m on October 29 and 200m T43 today.
Van Rhijn has quickly become the world’s fastest female leg amputee and one of the biggest names in para-sport. Here are excerpts from an interview:

How are your preparations going for this year’s World Championships? Is there anything particular that you are working on in training?
I had a very good season prior to the World Championships so I’m very excited. I’ve been working on getting more explosive and focussing more on just sprinting.

What are you looking forward to most about competing in this year’s World Championships?
It’s the last major IPC Championship prior to the Paralympic Games. So I’m really looking forward to high quality races!

Do you think Doha 2015 will be your toughest championships yet in terms of the competition?
You see that the competition is growing and everyone is becoming faster. But I don’t focus on the competition to be honest, I just really like to run fast.

You hold the world record in your class for 100m and 200m and are in the history books for the fastest 400m time. How does it feel to be a world record holder?
It’s still very weird to think that my PB is also the World Record. But mostly it’s just really cool that I can say that I’m the fastest woman on blades.

Why are the World Championships so important to you and your sport?
What I like most about the world championships is that it’s this major event where you can “warm up” basically for the Paralympic Games. Everyone will be there and you don’t get that chance very often.

For anyone that has never seen para-sport, what makes it so incredible?
Well, what makes sport in generally incredible, is that it’s fast and you can watch people perform at the highest level.

How did you get into para-athletics and how did it change your life?
I played sports my whole life. From basketball to swimming, to eventually athletics. I just love competing and the feeling of getting better at something day after day.

Who was your hero or role model growing up and what impact did they have on you?
I don’t really have heroes or role models. My family always supports me in everything I do, which made me become who I am now.

What do you hope your legacy will be when you retire from athletics?
I hope that I helped the sport in getting more known as it being just a very cool sport. On blades, in a wheelchair, it doesn’t matter as long as its fast and you get to see cool races.

You were a strong swimmer and swam several Dutch national records, what made you stop swimming in 2010?
I simply didn’t like it that much anymore. I was 18 at that time and I wanted to find out how life was without being involved in sports that much. Obviously not that great as it took me only half a year before starting athletics!