Sharon Hedrick
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| Birth name | Sharon Rahn | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
April 26, 1956 Horsham, Pennsylvania, United States |
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| Alma mater | Hatboro-Horsham High School, University of Illinois | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Athlete; Wheelchair basketball instructor; Dietitian | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | Brad Hedrick | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Event(s) | 800 meters Wheelchair, Wheelchair basketball, Swimming | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Sharon Hedrick (born April 26, 1956) is an American former paralympic swimmer, wheelchair racer and wheelchair basketballer.
Hedrick was born in Horsham, Pennsylvania. At the age of 9, she was accidentally shot by a 12-year-old boy playing with a loaded gun. This left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Hedrick is the only US athlete to have won gold in both the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Eight-time Boston Marathon winner and Paralympic athlete, Jean Driscoll, cites Hedrick as one of her sporting inspirations.
Sharon Hedrick did not get involved in wheelchair sports until she was 19, when she was seen training her dog at a local fair and encouraged to join Temple University's athletic team.
She went on to play for the wheelchair basketball team at the University of Illinois, winning six MVP awards.
In 1977 Hedrick was the first female wheelchair competitor in the Boston Marathon; she finished with a time of 3:48:51.
In 1980 Hedrick competed in the Paralympic Games for the first time as a wheelchair basketballer. The team gained the bronze medal. Hedricks did not compete in the 1984 team which failed to bring a medal home, but returned to win gold and then silver in the two subsequent games in Seoul 1988, and Barcelona 1992.
In 1984 Hedrick turned down a place on the Paralympic team to become the first wheelchair athlete to win a gold track medal at an Olympic Games by breaking the world record. She finished with a time of 2:15.73. She successfully defended this title at the following games in South Korea.
1990 saw the first Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in St. Etienne, France. Hedrick claimed gold as part of the winning USA team.
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