Susan Katz is an American Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. She has won a gold 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 ...

. She was previously a producer at ESPN.

Early life

Katz was born in Olney, Maryland with mild spina bifida but later moved to California. At the age of ten, her legs became paralyzed after a failed spinal cord surgery. While her parents encouraged her to walk with crutches and braces, she insisted on using a wheelchair. Katz later attended Quince Orchard High School and the University of Illinois, where she played on the wheelchair basketball team.

Career

Katz qualified for the

1996 Summer Paralympics The 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, were held from August 16 to 25. It was the first Paralympic Games, Paralympics to get mass media sponsorship, and had a budget of USD $81 million. It was the first Paralympic Games ...

where she competed in discus, javelin and shot put. After qualifying for the U.S. Paralympics Women's Wheelchair Basketball Team in 2004, Katz was a member of the team that won the gold medal at the Paralympic Games in Athens. Over six games on the way to the gold medal, she played 72 minutes and collected 10 points and 17 rebounds. Upon retiring, Katz became the director of Paralympic and Disability Sport, World Sport Chicago. She also worked with sports network ESPN as an associate producer of their show ''Around the Horn'' and production assistant for ''

SportsCenter ''SportsCenter'' (SC) is a daily sports news television show, television program that serves as the flagship program and brand of United States, American cable television, cable and satellite television television network, network ESPN. The show ...

.'' In 2013, Katz become the first American woman handcyclist to complete the

Ironman World Championship The Ironman World Championship has been held annually in Hawaii since 1978, with an additional race in 1982. It is owned and organized by the World Triathlon Corporation. It is the annual culmination of a series of Ironman triathlon qualification ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Susan Living people People from Olney, Maryland Basketball players from Montgomery County, Maryland American women's wheelchair basketball players Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Year of birth missing (living people) Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics 21st-century American women People with spina bifida