Nichole Ann Millage (born March 27, 1977) is a former American

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics, also known as the ''Games of the Paralympiad'', is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of physical disabilities, including impaired muscle power and impaire ...

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summ ...

ist (she retired in 2021 after the Tokyo Paralympics) and an Environmental Sustainability Specialist at the City of

Champaign Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

Early life

Millage was born in

Champaign, Illinois Champaign ( ) is a city in Champaign County, Illinois, United States. The population was 88,302 at the 2020 census. It is the tenth-most populous municipality in Illinois and the fourth most populous city in Illinois outside the Chicago metropo ...

in 1977. In 1995, she graduated from Centennial High School in Champaign. She played volleyball (middle hitter) and fast pitch softball (pitcher) throughout high school. In 2009, she earned a business degree from the

University of Central Oklahoma The University of Central Oklahoma (UCO or Central State) is a public university in Edmond, Oklahoma. It is the third largest university in Oklahoma, with more than 17,000 students and approximately 434 full-time and 400 adjunct faculty. Founde ...

. In 2012, she earned her master's degree in Business Administration from the University of Central Oklahoma. Before joining the

sitting volleyball Sitting volleyball is a form of volleyball for athletes with a disability. As opposed to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor during the game. History Sitting volleyball was inve ...

team, she worked as a legal secretary at Fischer & Wozniak, P.C. in

Urbana, Illinois Urbana ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Champaign County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2020 census, Urbana had a population of 38,336. As of the 2010 United States Census, Urbana is the List of municipalities in Illinois, 38th-most pop ...

. She lost her left leg below the knee at the age of 21 in a

boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...

ing accident at Clinton Lake in

Clinton, Illinois Clinton is the largest city in DeWitt County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,225 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of DeWitt County. The city and the county are named for DeWitt Clinton, governor of New York, 1817–182 ...

. She also sustained injuries to her left hand.

Career

She joined the U.S.A. National

Sitting Volleyball Sitting volleyball is a form of volleyball for athletes with a disability. As opposed to standing volleyball, sitting volleyball players must have at least one buttock in contact with the floor during the game. History Sitting volleyball was inve ...

team in March 2005. In 2006, she competed in the World Championships for

in Roermond, Netherlands, where her team placed 5th. In 2007, she competed in the Sitting Volleyball Invitational in Shanghai, China where Team USA won silver. In 2008, she participated in the

World Organization Volleyball for Disabled World ParaVolley, formerly the World Organization Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD), is an international organization that is for people with physical disabilities. It is affiliated with the International Paralympic Committee(IPC). The World Organizati ...

in Ismailia, Egypt where her team won a

bronze medal A bronze medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of bronze awarded to the third-place finisher of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The outright winner receive ...

and the same year won a silver medal for her participation in the

2008 Paralympic Games 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 wa ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. In 2009, Millage won a gold medal in the Parapan American Zonal Championships which was held in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

and the same year won a

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at the Eurocup in Roermond, Netherlands. Millage won a gold medal in 2010 the Parapan American Championships in Denver, Colorado and the same year won a gold medal at the WOVD Championships in Port Said, Egypt. Then in July 2010, Team USA won a

silver medal A silver medal in sports and other similar areas involving competition is a medal made of, or plated with, silver awarded to the second-place finisher, or runner-up, of contests or competitions such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc ...

at the World Championships which took place in

Edmond, Oklahoma Edmond is a city in Oklahoma County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City metropolitan area in the central part of the state. The population was 94,428 according to the 2020 United States Census, making it the fifth largest cit ...

. In 2011 and 2012, respectively, she won three gold medals at the ECVD Continental Cup in Yevpatoria, Ukraine; Parapan American Zonal Championship in São Paulo, Brazil; and Sitting Volleyball Masters Tournament in Leersum, Netherlands. She also earned a silver medal for her participation in the

2012 Paralympic Games The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Summer Paralympic Gam ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 2013, Millage, along with Team USA, won the gold medal at both the Moscow Open Cup in August and the ParaVolley PanAmerican Zone Championships held in Edmond, Oklahoma in October. Team USA competed at the World Championships in Elblag, Poland in June 2014. Millage and Team USA won silver and had their closest finish ever against China in an international tournament, 23–25, 25–22, 19–25, 25–21, 17–15. She was part of the USA team which won the gold at

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 ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada.; gold in the Intercontinental Cup in Anji, China in March 2016; gold at the

2016 Paralympic Games ) , nations = 159 , athletes = 4,342 , opening = 7 September , closing = 18 September , opened_by = President Michel Temer , cauldron = Clodoaldo Silva , events = 528 in 22 sports , stadium = Maracanã , sum ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, Brazil; gold at the ParaVolley PanAmerican Zonal Championships in Montreal, Canada; silver at World Championship in Arnhem, Netherlands; gold at

2019 Parapan American Games The 2019 Parapan American Games ( es, Juegos Parapanamericanos de 2019, links=no), officially the VI Pan American Games and commonly known as the Lima 2019 ParaPan-Am Games, was an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities, ...

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, Peru; and gold at World Super 6 in Tokyo, Japan. She topped off her 16 1/2 year sitting volleyball career with a gold medal at the

2020 Paralympic Games The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, was an international multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the International Paralymp ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

Personal life

Since 2013, Millage has worked at the City of Champaign as an Environmental Sustainability Specialist. She manages the city's recycling programs.

References

External links