Stephanie Wheeler

Stephanie Wheeler (born 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 Parapan 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.

After undergraduate school, she relocated to the University of Alabama, where she received her master's degree in adaptive sport and pedagogy. While she was a student there, she helped grow their new wheelchair basketball program.

Team USA Many of Stephanie's teammates at the University of Illinois were members of Team USA, and they encouraged her to apply. She did not make the team after her first tryout, but eventually was accepted to the development team in 2001. From there, she competed in the Paralympic games in Athens (2004) and Beijing (2008), winning gold medals at both. The team's gold medal in 2004 was the first gold medal Team USA had won at the Paralympic games in 22 years. While she was on Team USA, they also won 2 World Championship silver medals and 1 gold medal.

Coaching Stephanie retired from wheelchair basketball as a player in 2010 but wanted to continue her involvement in the sport. The position of head coach at the University of Illinois opened up at the same time as her retirement, so she applied for and received the job. The success of her program at the university led to her being named head coach of Team USA.

Personal life Throughout her adolescence, Stephanie had dated men, but she began dating women in 2008. Shortly after, she came out as gay to her teammates.