Robyn Love (born 28 August 1990) is a 3.5 point British

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 who represented Great Britain 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 ...

Biography

Robyn Love was born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, Scotland, on 28 August 1990. She was born with

arthrogryposis Arthrogryposis (AMC) describes congenital joint contracture in two or more areas of the body. It derives its name from Greek, literally meaning "curving of joints" (', "joint"; ', late Latin form of late Greek ', "hooking"). Children born with one ...

, a rare condition in which the muscles are shortened, due to the wrapping of the

umbilical cord In placental mammals, the umbilical cord (also called the navel string, birth cord or ''funiculus umbilicalis'') is a conduit between the developing embryo or fetus and the placenta. During prenatal development, the umbilical cord is physiologic ...

around her legs. As a result, her right leg is shorter than her left, and she is missing muscles in both legs. At school, she played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

and tennis, but refused to participate in

athletics Athletics may refer to: Sports * Sport of athletics, a collection of sporting events that involve competitive running, jumping, throwing, and walking ** Track and field, a sub-category of the above sport * Athletics (physical culture), competi ...

because she knew her disability prevented her from running as fast as the other kids. During her 2008

gap year A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...

before university, surgeons at

Glasgow Royal Infirmary The Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) is a large teaching hospital. With a capacity of around 1,000 beds, the hospital campus covers an area of around , and straddles the Townhead and Dennistoun districts on the north-eastern fringe of the city cen ...

attempted to lengthen her leg by breaking it and using plaster and pins to keep it straight. The pins had to be tightened daily, which was excruciatingly painful. They also inserted a plate in her

femur The femur (; ), or thigh bone, is the proximal bone of the hindlimb in tetrapod vertebrates. The head of the femur articulates with the acetabulum in the pelvic bone forming the hip joint, while the distal part of the femur articulates with ...

that helped her walk better, but her right leg remained shorter, and she still walked with a limp. In 2009, she entered

Edinburgh Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

, where she studied

biomedical sciences Biomedical sciences are a set of sciences applying portions of natural science or formal science, or both, to develop knowledge, interventions, or technology that are of use in healthcare or public health. Such disciplines as medical microbio ...

. One of the first things she did was find sports organisations, and she started playing basketball. By embracing her disability, Love was set on the path to becoming an elite athlete. A friend suggested she try

. Love attended a "come and try" day run by the Lothian Phoenix club in November 2013, and met Tina Gordon from

Sportscotland Sportscotland (officially styled sport), formerly the Scottish Sports Council, is the national agency for sport in Scotland. The Scottish Sports Council was established in 1972 by royal charter. The body works in partnership with public, pri ...

, who became her coach. Love was classified a 3.5-point player, and Gordon trained her, and even bought her a £1,000 wheelchair basketball sports chair. Love played her first wheelchair basketball game in January 2014, shooting 16 points in a winning game. She went on to win the Scottish Cup with Lothian Phoenix and the Scottish Universities Cup with Edinburgh Napier University. In October 2014, she attended a national team training camp, and in 2015 she relocated to the

University of Worcester , motto_lang = la , mottoeng = ''Aspire to Inspire'' , established = 1946 – Worcester Emergency Teacher Training College 1948 – Worcester Teacher Training College 1976 – Worcester College of Higher Education 1997 – ...

, where the national team is based. She made her international debut with the national team at the Osaka Cup in Japan in February 2015, winning silver. This was followed by bronze at the European Championships in September 2015, securing a place for the British team at the

in Rio de Janeiro. In May 2016, she was selected as part of the side for Rio. The British team produced its best ever performance at the Paralympics, making it all the way to the semi-finals, but lost to the semi-final to the United States, and then the bronze medal match to the Netherlands.

Achievements

* 2015: Bronze at the European Championships (

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engla ...

, England) * 2016: Fourth at the 2016 Paralympics (

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) * 2017: Bronze at the European Championships (

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

, Spain) * 2018: Silver at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship (

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

, Germany)

Personal life

She is engaged to fellow wheelchair basketball player Laurie Williams. They have a child together.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Love, Robyn 1990 births Living people British women's wheelchair basketball players Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Great Britain Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Commonwealth Games competitors for Scotland Basketball players at the 2022 Commonwealth Games Sportspeople from Ayr Scottish LGBT sportspeople