PARALYMPIC gold medalist Marieke Vervoort has ended her life through euthanasia at the age of 40.

Vervoort had an incurable degenerative muscle disease which caused constant pain, seizures and paralysis in her legs and left her barely able to sleep.

Despite this, the Belgian won gold in the T52 100m wheelchair race at London 2012 and silver in the T52 200m wheelchair race.

She also won medals at the 2016 Rio Olympics, claiming silver in the T51/52 400m and bronze in the T51/52 100m.

Euthanasia is legal in Belgium, and a statement from Vervoort’s home city of Diest said she had “responded to her choice on Tuesday evening.”

Vervoort was able to pursue euthanasia due to Belgium’s liberal laws, having submitted forms to undergo death by lethal injection, but she required three doctors to sign off that she was experiencing excruciating pain without a cure.

She suffered from a form of progressive tetraplegia which has left her doctors mystified.

(SD-Agencies)