Salt Lake City (ABC4) — An athlete from Utah has officially been selected to represent Team USA at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Ali Ibanez The Murray, Utah, native is set to join the U.S. Wheelchair Basketball Team at the Summer Paralympics after qualifying at the 2024 U.S. Women’s Invitational Camp.
Ibanez is Played before She has won medals at the Paralympics, winning a bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. World championshiphaving competed there in 2018 and 2023.
Ibáñez was born with a condition called arthrogryposis, which causes stiffness in the joints of the lower body.
according to Johns Hopkins MedicineThe cause of arthrogryposis is unknown, but “it is almost always due to another medical condition.” Arthrogryposis is usually discovered in the womb or at birth, and while there is no cure, there are treatment options.
When he’s not playing basketball, Ibáñez enjoys reading, art, hanging out with friends and hopes to one day become a tattoo apprentice.
“She discovered wheelchair basketball in 2013 and played for the NWBA’s junior varsity team until she graduated from high school,” according to the press release.
The N.W.B.A. National Wheelchair Basketball Associationwas founded in 1949. Nearly 200 NWBA events are held each year in different countries, with the season running from October to April.
The organization is recognized as the U.S. governing body by the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation and the Paralympic Division of the U.S. Olympic Committee.
