| Country (sports) |  United States |
|---|---|
| Born | March 8, 1957 Stony Point, New York |
| Retired | 1999 |
Medal record | |
Nancy Olson (born March 8, 1957) is an American former wheelchair tennis player. She competed in two Summer Paralympics, winning two silver medals in doubles. [1]
Olson graduated from Slippery Rock University. [2]
At the 1992 Summer Paralympics, her first, Olson was eliminated in the singles quarter-finals by Monique Kalkman, while she reached the final in the doubles alongside Lynn Seidemann. The two lost to Kalkman and Chantal Vandierendonck, winning the silver medal. [3] [4] In the 1996 Summer Paralympics, her second and last, Olson again reached the quarter-finals in the singles, this time losing to Vandierendonck. In the doubles she also repeated her result from the last games by winning another silver medal. Together with Hope Lewellen she reached the final, which was again won by Monique Kalkman and Chantal Vandierendonck. [5] [6]
In the world rankings she achieved her best placings with third place in the singles on March 23, 1993, and the world ranking lead in the doubles on September 6, 1994. [7] She played her last tournament in 1999 and retired.
Randy Snow was the first Paralympian to be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame and the first paralympian to win medals in three different sports: track, basketball and tennis.
Esther Mary Vergeer is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis player. Vergeer won 43 major titles, 23 year-end championships, and seven Paralympic gold medals. She was the world No. 1 in women's wheelchair singles from 1999 to her retirement in February 2013. Vergeer went undefeated in singles for ten straight years, ending her career on a winning streak of 470 matches. She has often been named the most dominant player in professional sports.
Lucy Jessica Shuker is a British wheelchair tennis player who is currently the highest ranked woman in the sport in Britain. A previous singles and doubles National Champion, Shuker has represented Great Britain at four successive Paralympic Games, twice winning a bronze medal in the women's doubles and is former world doubles champion and World Team Cup silver medallist amongst a number of other national and international successes.
Josie Cichockyj was a British wheelchair athlete. Born in Huddersfield, she competed in the London Marathon women's wheelchair race for a number of years, finishing as runner-up to Kay McShane and Karen Davidson, before winning the 1989 race. Josie won further Marathons including the Leeds, Gloucester, Ottawa and Brussels Marathons. Plus several half Marathons including Great North Run and Reading.
Wheelchair tennis was first contested at the Summer Paralympics as a demonstration sport in 1988, with two events being held. It became an official medal-awarding sport in 1992 and has been competed at every Summer Paralympics since then. Four events were held from 1992 to 2000, with quad events in both singles and doubles added in 2004.
David Robert Hall, OAM is an Australian former professional wheelchair tennis player. With eight US Open singles titles, two Masters singles titles, and a Paralympic gold medal in singles, he has been referred to as Australia's greatest ever wheelchair tennis player.
Lisa Daniela "Danni" Di Toro is an Australian wheelchair tennis and para table tennis player. Di Toro was the 2010 French Open doubles champion and has also been the Masters double champion. In singles, Di Toro is the former world number one and two time masters finalist. In 2015, she moved to para-table tennis and represented Australia at the 2016 Rio Paralympics, where she was team captain with Kurt Fearnley. At the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, her seventh Paralympics, she was the team captain and Opening Ceremony flag bearer with Ryley Batt. She has been selected to compete at her eight Paralympics in Paris.
Branka Pupovac is a Paralympic wheelchair tennis competitor from Australia.
Jiske Griffioen is a Dutch professional wheelchair tennis player. Griffioen is a 20-time major champion, Paralympic gold medalist, seven-time Masters champion, and a former world No. 1. Alongside Aniek van Koot, Griffioen completed the Grand Slam in doubles in 2013. In singles, Griffioen is a three-time Masters champion, Paralympic gold medalist, four-time major champion, and a former world No. 1.
Melissa Tapper is an Australian table tennis player. After competing at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, she represented Australia at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in elite non-Paralympic competition. In March 2016, she became the first Australian athlete to qualify for both the Summer Olympics and Summer Paralympics.
Wheelchair tennis first entered the Summer Paralympic Games in 1988 as a demonstration sport and as a full medal sport at the 1992 Barcelona Games. Australia has competed at every Paralympic wheelchair tennis competition. There are two categories of medals - open division and quad division.
Sharon Walraven is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player. She became paraplegic at age 23 after complications following a fall while she was ice-skating. She has won seven Grand Slams doubles titles partnering compatriot Esther Vergeer. At the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing she won the gold medal in the women's doubles competition. At the 2000 Paralympics in Sydney she won a silver medal in the women's singles competition. Walraven has a highest ranking of No.2 in singles and No.1 in doubles.
Jordanne Joyce Whiley MBE is a British retired wheelchair tennis player. Aged 14, she became Britain's youngest ever national women's singles champion in wheelchair tennis. She has osteogenesis imperfecta as does her father, Keith, who was also a Paralympian and won a bronze medal in 1984 in New York. As well as the 2015 US Open in wheelchair singles, Whiley has won 9 Grand Slam doubles titles, and she & Japanese Yui Kamiji are the fourth team in women's wheelchair doubles to complete the Calendar Year Grand Slam. Whiley was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2015 Queens Birthday Honours list for services to wheelchair tennis.
Aniek van Koot is a Dutch wheelchair tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
Yui Kamiji is a Japanese professional wheelchair tennis player. She has won 28 major titles, as well as a Paralympic silver and bronze medal in singles and doubles, respectively, at the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics. She also won a bronze medal in singles at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.
Heath Arthur Davidson, is an Australian wheelchair tennis player. Davidson is a four-time Australian Open doubles champion, all partnering Dylan Alcott. He has also won two Paralympic medals, a gold and silver in doubles at the 2016 Rio and 2020 Tokyo Paralympics, respectively. He has been selected for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his third Games.
Chantal Vandierendonck is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis player. Vandierendonck won various wheelchair tennis championships held by the International Tennis Federation and multiple Paralympic medals from 1988 to 1996. She was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2014.
Monique Kalkman-Van den Bosch is a Dutch former professional wheelchair tennis and table tennis player. Monique competed at the Paralympics in 1984, 1988, 1992 and 1996. In 2017, she was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.
Diede de Groot is a Dutch professional wheelchair tennis player who is the current world No. 1 in both singles and doubles.
Ruth Lamsbach is a German paralympic athlete and multiple medalist at the Paralympic Games.
