Megan Blunk

Megan Blunk
Personal information
Nationality United States
Born (1989-09-12) September 12, 1989 (age 35)
Tacoma, Washington
Education2010, Tacoma Community College
B.A., M.A., University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
Height5 ft 3 in (1.60 m)
Weight115lb (52kg)
Medal record
Summer Paralympics
Wheelchair basketball
Gold medal – first place 2016 Summer Paralympics Women's wheelchair basketball

Megan Blunk (born September 12, 1989) is an American wheelchair basketball player for the United States women's national wheelchair basketball team. She won a gold medal for Team USA during the 2016 Summer Paralympics.

Early life

Blunk was born September 12, 1989, in Tacoma, Washington to parents Wendy Ricketts and David Blunk.[1] After graduating from Peninsula High School in 2008, Blunk became paralyzed from the waist down due to a motorcycle crash.[2] Following this, two of her friends committed suicide, which increased her depression.[3] Despite this, Blunk accepted a placement at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign's women's wheelchair basketball team.[4] It was during summer break from the University of Illinois that Blunk began para-canoeing at the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Club.[5]

Career

In 2013, she competed with Team USA at the ParaCanoe World Championships, where she won two silver medals [6] However, after qualifying for the final roster with the 2015 United States women's national wheelchair basketball team, she competed in the 2015 Parapan American Games, and later tried out for the United States para-canoe trials.[5] With Team USA, Blunk helped take home a gold medal under coach Stephanie Wheeler.[7]

Deciding to stick with basketball, Blunk helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics by beating Germany 62–45 in the medal finals.[8] In 2018, Blunk participated in former National Football League player Colin Kaepernick's viral Nike commercial.[9]

References

  1. ^ "NWBA Athlete of the Week - Megan Blunk". nwba.org. February 10, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  2. ^ Torees, Irene (December 1, 2016). "GOLD MEDAL FOR LOCAL PARALYMPIC CHAMP". Key Peninsula News. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  3. ^ Manley, Jon (July 13, 2016). "Gig Harbor resident Blunk makes Team USA wheelchair basketball Paralympic squad". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  4. ^ Kragen, Pam (October 13, 2019). "Wheelchair basketball star Megan Blunk shoots for the heights". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Megan Blunk balances life as a two-sport athlete looking towards Rio". paralympic.org. March 18, 2015. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  6. ^ Olivier, Nicholas (August 28, 2013). "Team USA wins three medals on Day 1 of ParaCanoe World Championships". teamusa.org. Archived from the original on September 14, 2013. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  7. ^ "KP ATHLETE TO COMPETE IN RIO PARALYMPIC GAMES". Key Peninsula News. September 2, 2016. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  8. ^ Manley, Jon (September 28, 2016). "Paralympian Blunk returns to Gig Harbor with gold medal, prepares for visit to White House". The News Tribune. Retrieved December 18, 2019.
  9. ^ Rozier, Alex (September 18, 2018). "Gig Harbor athlete featured in Kaepernick Nike ad". king5.com. Retrieved December 18, 2019.