Stephanie Wheeler
Stephanie Wheeler (born in Norlina, North Carolina on January 16, 1981) is an American wheelchair basketball player who was on two gold medal-winning Paralympic teams. She also played on the gold medal-winning team at the 2007 Para-Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro. She received her degree in kinesiology from the University of Illinois and is working on her doctorate in sports education from the University of Alabama. As of 2010 she is head coach of the University of Illinois wheelchair basketball team, and will return to the Paralympic games in Rio in 2016, now as a coach. Introduction to Wheelchair Basketball At age 6, Stephanie became paralyzed after being in a car accident that took her mother's life. As a child, she was an active participant in T-ball and gymnastics, and she wanted to remain active despite her paralysis. At age 12, she joined her local adaptive sports club that only offered one sport: wheelchair basketball. Several years later, she attended a sports camp at the University of Illinois, where she was able to compete in wheelchair basketball on a larger scale than her hometown of 1000 people in Norlina, North Carolina. Spending time at the university exposed her to