Olympic athlete Abby Bauleke has earned a spot in the Paris Olympics of 2024. She has already competed for the United States at the Tokyo Paralympics in 2021 and won a bronze medal. She is a leukemia survivor who developed paralysis while undergoing treatment.
USA women’s wheelchair basketball wins gold, qualifies for 2024 Paris Paralympics
The United States women’s wheelchair basketball team played against Canada in the final game of the Parapan Am Games. The American team defeated Canada with a score of 62-56. By winning this game, they earned the gold medal at the Parapan Am Games. Additionally, their victory secured a spot for the United States women’s wheelchair basketball team to compete at the Paralympic Games next summer in Paris, France.
Abby Bauleke will represent the US in the Upcoming Paris Paralympics 2024
For the American players, this win was especially satisfying because four years ago, they had lost the championship game to the Canadian team.
“It’s the greatest honor I have ever felt.”
said Bauleke
Abby Bauleke’s Age, Family, Leukemia, and Education
Abby Bauleke was born on July 31, 2001, in the town of Savage, Minnesota. Her parents are Chris and Natalie Bauleke. Abby is the youngest of three children, with an older brother named Ben and an older sister named Emily.
Although Abby’s family has ties to the city of Austin, she likely did not expect to become a Paralympic medal winner when she was younger. From an early age, Abby loved the sport of basketball. She would spend many hours on the sidelines watching her older siblings play, but never thought she would be able to participate herself. Just before turning five years old, Abby was diagnosed with leukemia. During her treatment for cancer, she became unable to walk due to developing Guillain-Barré syndrome, a rare condition where the immune system mistakenly attacks the nerves.
Abby is originally from Savage, Minnesota. She is currently a freshman student at the University of Alabama, where she is a member of the women’s wheelchair basketball team in the Adapted Athletics program. In addition to basketball, Abby is an avid swimmer and was the captain of the girls’ swim team at Burnsville High School in 2020.
Abby attended and completed her high school education at Burnsville High School. She has now enrolled at the University of Alabama to further her studies, choosing human development and family studies as her major.
How Abby Bauleke Fell in Love with Wheelchair Basketball and Started Her Career
Abby was familiar with competitive sports from a young age, participating in activities alongside kids without disabilities. In her hometown of Savage, she was part of a club swim team. However, adaptive sports were about to open up a whole new world for her.
In 2012, Abby started playing wheelchair basketball with the Minnesota Jr. Rolling Timberwolves club in the United States. Her parents ensured that Abby had every chance to play basketball, but early on, they were unsure of how far this sport could take her. Abby also did not know what to expect.
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Around this time, the family learned that some colleges offer full scholarships to para-athletes for basketball. The University of Alabama provided Abby with such a scholarship opportunity, which she eagerly accepted. This opportunity allowed Abby to continue participating in a sport that she and her family greatly enjoyed.
Following this, Abby joined her high school’s basketball team. As a junior, she won a gold medal while competing as the youngest member of Team USA at the 2019 Under-25 World Championships in Thailand. After that achievement, there was no stopping Abby’s progress. When applying to colleges, the University of Alabama was an obvious choice because it had the best-adapted athletics program in the country.
Abby Bauleke in her professional Career and Representing the US
In May 2019, five student-athletes from the University of Alabama’s Adapted Athletics wheelchair basketball team, including Abby, represented the United States at the women’s under 25 International Wheelchair Basketball Championships held in Thailand that October. Team USA won the World Champion title and gold medal in this tournament.
Abby tried out for the Team USA national squad and was named an alternate for both the 2019 and 2020 teams. However, due to COVID-19 and the postponement of the Paralympic Games, she got another opportunity to try out in March of 2021 – and was successfully named to Team USA that July.
At the Tokyo Paralympics in 2020, Abby and the US Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team won a bronze medal. Six months later, Abby and her defending champion Alabama Women’s Wheelchair Basketball team won the National Wheelchair Basketball Association Championship.
The bronze medal-winning US team included Lindsey Zurbrugg, Bailey Moody, and Abby Bauleke. Zurbrugg made a tremendous contribution, scoring 22 points in the final game against Germany to secure the bronze medal.
In 2022, Abby represented the United States at the Wheelchair Basketball World Championships and won another bronze medal.
In 2023, Abby helped her team win the PARAPAN American Games, which qualified them for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Now back at school, Abby is once again playing for the University of Alabama’s team, but she is already looking ahead to the 2024 games in Paris.
