Education
She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind und partially sighted in Marburg, Germany.
She studied at the Carl-Strehl Schule, a special school for the blind und partially sighted in Marburg, Germany.
During the 2009 German blind cross country championship, Bentele had a serious accident. Her sighted guide failed to give proper directions, so she fell down a slope in a dry river bed. She tore a cruciate ligament in her knee, and suffered finger and liver injuries, and damaged one kidney so badly that it had to be removed.
Despite this, only a year later, Verena had her best Olympic result, winning 5 Gold Medals 2010 Winter Paralympics in the 2010 Vancouver Paralympics.
Late in 2011, she announced her retirement at the age of 29. In 2014 Bentele was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame.