Rebecca Murray (born March 15, 1990) is an American former

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. She is a three-time

Parapan American Games The Parapan American Games is an international multi-sport event for athletes with physical disabilities held every four years after every Pan American Games. The first Games were held in 1999 in Mexico City, Mexico. The 2003 Parapan American G ...

gold medalist in both 2007, 2011 and 2023. In 2010, she won two more gold medals at IWBF World Championship and at U25 World Championship in 2011.

Early life

Murray was born on March 15, 1990, in

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...

to parents Richard and Linda Murray. She 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, me ...

which paralyzed her from the waist down. She first started playing

at the age of six through the assistance of the IndependenceFirst organization. Murray remained with the sport and began attending a

University of Wisconsin–Whitewater The University of Wisconsin–Whitewater (UW–Whitewater) is a public university in Whitewater, Wisconsin. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System. Student enrollment in the 2014–2015 academic year was more than 12,000. The universit ...

wheelchair basketball camp before joining the Milwaukee Wizards at the age of 12. Murray graduated from Germantown High School in 2008 and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater for a degree in

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

Career

At the age of 18, Murray made her

Summer Paralympic Games The Summer Paralympics also known as the Games of the Paralympiad, are an international multi-sport event where athletes with physical disabilities compete. This includes athletes with mobility disabilities, amputations, blindness, and cerebral ...

debut 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 ...

where she helped the

United States women's national wheelchair basketball team The United States women's national wheelchair basketball team began in the mid-1960s. The first women's team to compete alongside men in the Paralympic Games was in the inaugural 1968 tournament. A few years later in 1977, a women's wheelchair bas ...

win a gold medal. Following this, she became a IWBF World Championships gold medalist in 2010 and a

gold medalist in 2011. During the

2016 Summer Paralympics ) , 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 ...

, Murray was the leading scorer in both games leading up to the gold medal round. She scored 31 points in the semi-final win against Great Britain and 33 points to win the gold medal over Germany. As a result of her play, she was named a finalist for Team USA's Female Athlete of the Paralympic Games. Following the Games, Murray took a break from competition but returned for the qualifications for the

2020 Summer Paralympics 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 Paralym ...

. However, as a result of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, Murray chose to quit the sport before the Games began. She represented the United States at the

2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships The 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships were held at the Dubai World Trade Centre in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from 8 to 20 June 2023. Both men's and women's tournaments have been played, with 12 women's and 16 men's teams compe ...

and won a bronze medal.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Rebecca 1990 births Living people American women's wheelchair basketball players Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for the United States Wheelchair basketball players at the 2023 Parapan American Games Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2007 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games Basketball players from Milwaukee People with paraplegia People with spina bifida 21st-century American women