Rebecca Murray (born March 15, 1990) is an American former wheelchair basketball player. She is a two-time Parapan American Games gold medalist in both 2007 and 2011. In 2010, she won two more gold medals at IWBF World Championship and at U25 World Championship in 2011.
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| Born | (1990-03-15) March 15, 1990 (age 32) Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Listed height | 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Murray was born on March 15, 1990, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to parents Richard and Linda Murray.[1] She was born with spina bifida which paralyzed her from the waist down.[2] She first started playing wheelchair basketball at the age of six through the assistance of the IndependenceFirst organization.[3] Murray remained with the sport and began attending a University of Wisconsin–Whitewater wheelchair basketball camp[4] before joining the Milwaukee Wizards at the age of 12.[1]
Murray graduated from Germantown High School in 2008 and enrolled at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater for a degree in special education.[1]
At the age of 18, Murray made her Summer Paralympic Games debut at the 2008 Summer Paralympics where she helped the United States women's national wheelchair basketball team win a gold medal.[4] Following this, she became a IWBF World Championships gold medalist in 2010 and a Parapan American Games gold medalist in 2011.[5]
During the 2016 Summer Paralympics, 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.[6] As a result of her play, she was named a finalist for Team USA's Female Athlete of the Paralympic Games.[7] Following the Games, Murray took a break from competition but returned for the qualifications for the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[8] However, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Murray chose to quit the sport before the Games began.[5]
Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award winners | |
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