Darda Sales (born September 1, 1982) is a Canadian

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

, 4.0 point wheelchair basketball player and motivational speaker. She won gold medals with the 4x100 medley relay team at the

2000 Summer Paralympics The 2000 Summer Paralympic Games or the XI Summer Paralympics were held in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, between 18 and 29 October. The Sydney Paralympics was last time that the Summer Paralympics which were organized by two different ...

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and the 2002

IPC Swimming World Championships The World Para Swimming Championships, known before 30 November 2016 as the IPC Swimming World Championships, are the world championships for swimming where athletes with a disability compete. They are organised by the International Paralympic C ...

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires Province. The name "Mar del Plata" is a s ...

, and a silver medal at the

2004 Summer Paralympics ) , nations = 136 , athletes = 3,806 , events = 519 in 19 sports , opening = 17 September , closing = 28 September , opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos , cauldron = Georgios Toptsis , stadium = Olympic ...

in Athens. She switched to wheelchair basketball after she retired from swimming in 2009, and won a gold medal in that sport at the

2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship Separate men's and women's Wheelchair Basketball World Championship tournaments were held in 2014. The women's tournament was held at the Mattamy Athletic Centre in Toronto, Canada between 20 and 28 June 2014. It was the largest women's ...

in Toronto.

Biography

Darda Geiger was born in London, Ontario, on September 1, 1982. She was the youngest of four children, with two older brothers and an older sister. She grew up on a farm in rural Ontario. In 1985, when she was two, she lost her right leg above the knee in a farm accident. She has a Bachelor of Arts with Honors degree in kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario and a postgraduate certificate in therapeutic recreation. She is an athlete therapeutic recreational therapist. When Geiger was nine, she met three athletes who were training for the

1992 Summer Paralympics )( es, Deporte Sin Límites) , nations = 82 (BCN)75 (MAD) , athletes = 3,020 (BCN)1,600 (MAD) , opened_by = Queen Sofía , opening = 3 September (BCN)15 September (MAD) , closing = 14 September (BCN)22 September (MAD) , even ...

in Barcelona, and decided to become a Paralympian too. This dream came true at the

. As a member of the 4x100 medley relay team, she won a gold medal in the world record time. This was followed by a gold medal in the same event at the

in 2002, and a silver at the

in Athens. She also won bronze medals in the 100 m freestyle and 400 m freestyle events at the 2006 IPC World Championships. Geiger married Brad Sales, a fellow Paralympic swimmer and member of the Canadian national swim team, and now goes by the name of Darda Sales. They have three children. She competed in the 50 m, 100 m and 400m

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

and the 100 m backstroke events at the

2008 Summer Paralympics The 2008 Summer Paralympic Games (), the 13th Summer Paralympic Games, took place in Beijing, China from September 6 to 17, 2008. As with the 2008 Summer Olympics, equestrian events were held in Hong Kong and sailing events in Qingdao. It was ...

in Beijing, her third Paralympic Games, but did not win a medal. Sales retired from swimming in 2009, but became interested in wheelchair basketball. She competed for Team Ontario at the women's national championships, and made the national team in 2014. She was part of the team that won a gold medal at the

in Toronto in July 2014. and silver at the

2015 Parapan American Games The 2015 Parapan American Games, officially the V Parapan American Games and commonly known as the Toronto 2015 ParaPan-Am Games, were a major international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, celebrated in the tradition of the Pa ...

in August 2015.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sales, Darda 1982 births Living people Paralympic gold medalists for Canada Paralympic silver medalists for Canada Canadian women's wheelchair basketball players Paralympic swimmers for Canada Swimmers from London, Ontario Medalists at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2000 Summer Paralympics Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Paralympic medalists in swimming Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Canada Canadian female freestyle swimmers S9-classified para swimmers