Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | United Kingdom Ireland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Manchester, England | 4 February 1992||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 155 cm (5 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Country | Great Britain | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Sport | Wheelchair basketball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Disability class | 2.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Event(s) | Women's team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
College team | University of Alabama | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Loughborough Lightning | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Laurie Anne Williams (born 4 February 1992) is a 2.5 point British-Irish wheelchair basketball player who participated at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, and the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo, representing Great Britain.
Williams was born on 4 February 1992 at Wythenshawe Hospital and grew up in Altrincham. [1] At the age of eighteen months, an undiagnosed viral infection resulted in her developing motor neuropathy in her trunk and legs. [1]
She attended Altrincham Grammar School for Girls and later completed further education at Loreto College in Manchester. Following the completion of her A-Levels, Williams enrolled at Loughborough University and proceeded to graduate with a first class honours Bachelor of Science degree in social psychology. [2]
Immediately following her studies at Loughborough, Williams pursued postgraduate education at the University of Alabama, graduating with a Master of Science degree in Human Development Studies. [3]
When she was 13, Williams began wheelchair athletics and wheelchair racing. While attending the Greater Manchester Youth Games in 2005, she was asked to try out for wheelchair basketball. She found that she loved the physicality of the game and the social aspects of being part of a team, [4] [5] and started playing competitively in 2008. Her team mates called her "whippet" on account of her speed on the basketball court. [1] She played for the Nottingham Coyotes in the National League and is classified as a 2.5 point player. [5]
In 2009 Williams made her debut with Team Great Britain at the 2009 BT Paralympic World Cup in Manchester, and in 2010 was part of the team that came sixth at the World Championships in Birmingham – Britain's best ever performance. She was then part of the team that won silver at the U22 European Championships in Italy later that year. She won bronze at the European Championships in Nazareth in 2011 and Frankfurt in 2013, and at the U25 World Championship in St. Catharines, Canada in 2011. She made her Paralympic debut in front of a home crowd at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. [1]
Whilst studying at University of Alabama, Williams was part of the university wheelchair basketball team, and participated in their successfully winning their fourth national championship in seven years in 2015, with a 58–52 win over the University of Illinois. [6]
In 2015 she was co-captain (with Amy Conroy) of the U25 team at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing, [7] winning gold. [8] She then played with the senior team that defeated France to take bronze in the 2015 European Championship. [9] In May 2016, she was named as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. [10] The British team produced its best ever performance at the Paralympics, making it all the way to the semi-finals, but lost to the semi-final to the United States, and then the bronze medal match to the Netherlands. [11]
Domestically, Williams presently plays as a member of the Loughborough Lightning women's wheelchair basketball team. [12]
Williams is engaged to fellow wheelchair basketball player Robyn Love. [15] They have a child together. [16] She holds dual citizenship as an Irish national having inherited this from her mother's Irish citizenship.
Annabel Breuer is a wheelchair fencer and 1.5 point wheelchair basketball player. She has played for SKV Ravensburg and Sabres Ulm in the German wheelchair basketball league. In December 2012 she was contracted to play for first division club RSV Lahn-Dill as well as Sabres Ulm. She has also played the national team, with which she won two European titles, was runner-up at 2010 World Championships, and won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. After the London Games, President Joachim Gauck awarded the team Germany's highest sporting honour, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt.
Annika Zeyen is a former 1.5-point wheelchair basketball player, who has played for ASV Bonn, RSV Lahn-Dill and BG Baskets Hamburg in the German wheelchair basketball league, and for the University of Alabama in the United States. She has represented her country a total of 382 times in which she won six European titles, was the runner-up at 2010 and 2014 World Championships, won silver medals at the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing and 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, and won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, for which President Joachim Gauck awarded the team Germany's highest sporting honour, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt . Following the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games, Zeyen retired from wheelchair basketball to pursue alternative sporting challenges as an individual athlete.
Marina Mohnen is a 4.5-point wheelchair basketball player, who plays for Rhine River Rhinos Wiesbaden in Germany, and previously played for the Mainhatten Skywheelers, RBC Köln 99ers, BAD.S. Quartu Sant' Elena und S. Stefano Sport. She also played with the German national team that won the European title in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011 and 2015 and was runner-up in 2013. It was also runner-up at the IWBF World Championship in Birmingham in 2010 and in Toronto 2014. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing and the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio, and a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. The team was voted 2008 Team of the Year in disabled sports, and President Horst Köhler presented it with Germany's highest sports award, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt. President Joachim Gauck awarded the team a second Silver Leaf after it won the gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics and at the Summer Paralympics in 2016.
Simone Kues is a German 1.0 point national wheelchair basketball player who plays in the wheelchair basketball league for Hamburg SV. She joined the national team, and participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, at which the German team came fourth. She won bronze at the World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Amsterdam in 2006. Her team were won the European championship in 2005, 2007 and 2009. She won a silver medal at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. The women's national team were voted Team of the Year in disabled sports in 2008, and President Horst Köhler awarded them the Silver Laurel Leaf, Germany's highest German sports award.
Laura Fürst is a German 2.0 point national wheelchair basketball player who plays in the wheelchair basketball league for RBB Munich, and for the German national team, with which she won silver at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto.
Sophie Carrigill is a 1.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto and the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
Amy Conroy is a 4.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain in the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, the 2016 Summer Paralympics in a Rio de Janeiro, co captained the team to win Gold in the under 25 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Beijing and won a silver medal at the 2018 World Wheelchair Basketball Championships in Hamburg.
Joy Haizelden is a 2.5 point British wheelchair basketball player who was the youngest player to represent Great Britain at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto.
Charlotte Moore is a wheelchair racer who has won four Virgin London wheelchair mini-marathons, a wheelchair tennis player and a 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto and the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg.
Jordanna Bartlett is a 3.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing.
Leah Evans is a 2.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing.
Katie Morrow is a 4.5 point British wheelchair basketball player who was the youngest player selected for Team GB wheelchair basketball team at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Helen Freeman is a 4.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain in five European championships, and at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London and the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.
Rosalie Lalonde is a Canadian 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player who won a silver medal at the 2015 Parapan American Games in Toronto. In 2016, she was selected as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro
Clare Griffiths née Strange is a 1.5 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games.
Judith Hamer is a 4.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. She won a Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for bravery and trekked across the Andes Mountains in Ecuador as part of a reality television show, Beyond Boundaries.
Robyn Love is a 3.5 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
Madeleine Thompson is a 4 point British wheelchair basketball player. In 2008, at the age of thirteen, she became the youngest ever player to represent Great Britain in wheelchair basketball. She was part of the British team at the 2012 Paralympic Games in London, the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto, and the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Hamburg.
Anne Patzwald is a German 1.0 point wheelchair basketball player, who played for the German national team at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, winning silver. President Joachim Gauck awarded the team Germany's highest sporting honour, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt.
Barbara Gross is a 4.5 point wheelchair basketball player, who played for the German national team at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, winning silver. President Joachim Gauck awarded the team Germany's highest sporting honour, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt.