Elizabeth Becker is a very talented 21 year old wheelchair basketball player from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Elizabeth has been a wheelchair user for all her life because of spina bifida myelomeningocele. Myelomeningocele is a congenital condition in which there grows a malformation in the spine during pregnancy, causing damage to the spinal cord. Because of this, Elizabeth has been paralyzed from her waist down for all her life and she never had any feeling in her legs. She also has a slight degree of scoliosis.
As a child, Elizabeth came into contact with a woman who asked her if she had ever played wheelchair basketball and if she might be interest in giving it a try. At first, she wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about this idea, but after some encouragement from her parents, Elizabeth visited a training of their local team, the Charlotte Rolling Hornets. Totally unexpected, she immediately loved it and it soon became apparent that she even had quite a bit of talent for it.
After graduating from high school, Elizabeth went on to follow a study in Broadcasting at the University of Texas at Arlington, where she had the opportunity to join their collegiate wheelchair basketball team, the Lady Movin’ Mavericks.
In 2019, Elizabeth represented the National U25 Women’s Wheelchair Basketball Team. Later that year, she and her team became world champion in the IWBF’s Women’s U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Thailand!
Elizabeth’s great performances in the U25 team eventually contributed to a place for her in Team USA, and if all goes well, she will represent her country in the upcoming Paralympic Games in Tokyo later this year!
If you’re interested, you should absolutely check out this great interview Elizabeth had with the “Women in Sports” podcast, where she talks about the sport of wheelchair basketball and what it means to her;
When Kayla Harrison stood on the podium to accept Team USA’s first gold medal in judo, you wouldn’t have guessed that this Olympian - who so easily dispatched her opponents - had even greater personal obstacle to overcome. Molested by her c
hildhood coach, Kayla could easily have run away from the sport she loved. Who would have blamed her? But she showed her true grit to not only grapple with her terrible experience but also to courageously share her story with the world in order to give other women like her a voice. She’s a shining example for both her country and push girls everywhere.
Tell your friend she’s got a little Kayla Harrison in her. Reblog now to give her a little push.
