Joshua Turek (born April 12, 1979) is an American politician serving as a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from the 20th district. He was formerly a

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is basketball played by people with varying physical disabilities that disqualify them from playing a non-disabled sport. These include spina bifida, birth defects, cerebral palsy, paralysis due to accident, amputations (of ...

player and a member of the

United States men's national wheelchair basketball team The United States men's national wheelchair basketball team began in 1955 when the Pam Am Jets brought wheelchair basketball to Europe at the International Stoke Mandville Games, albeit in the form of netball. Shortly following the Pan Am Jets' do ...

Political career

Turek announced he was running for Iowa's 20th House of Representatives district in March 2022. After a

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

requested by his Republican opponent Sarah Abdouch, it was confirmed Turek won the election by six votes. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. He has worked extensively as an advocate for disabled people. He enters the Iowa state legislature as the first permanently disabled member in its history.

Paralympic career

Turek has represented the United States in

Wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball has been contested at the Summer Paralympics since the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome. Winning the Paralympics is considered to be the highest honour in international wheelchair basketball, followed by the World Champions ...

four times, finishing in seventh place in 2004, winning a bronze medal in

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...

and gold medals in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the Impeachment of Dilma Rousseff, impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses duri ...

and

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

Personal life

Turek was born with

spina bifida Spina bifida (Latin for 'split spine'; SB) is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the spine and the membranes around the spinal cord during early development in pregnancy. There are three main types: spina bifida occulta, men ...

and has been a wheelchair user since childhood. His brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, and sister, Elisha, are both retired professional basketball players.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turek, Joshua 1979 births Living people Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives American men's wheelchair basketball players Sportspeople from Council Bluffs, Iowa Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for the United States Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Wheelchair basketball players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Basketball players from Iowa 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century American politicians American politicians with disabilities People with spina bifida