| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Canada  United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | January 16, 1980 Kitchener, Ontario, Canada | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | 2003, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | gaertnergold | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Travis Gaertner (born January 16, 1980) is a Canadian-American actuary. He previously competed with Team Canada in the Paralympic Games in wheelchair basketball, where he won a gold medal at the 2000 Summer Paralympics and the 2004 Summer Paralympics.
Gaertner was born on January 16, 1980, in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada to parents Diana and Jonathan. [1] He was born with a congenital disease causing him to be born without a left and half a right leg. [2] Until he was in fifth grade, Gaertner used a prosthetic leg but eventually switched to a wheelchair for better mobility. [3] When Gaertner was twelve years old, Jonathan died of cancer and he decided to take up wheelchair basketball. [4] By Grade 6, he qualified for the Manitoba Ramblers of the Manitoba Wheelchair Sports Association, and later joined the Manitoba senior wheelchair team. His play caught the attention of a Canadian coach who invited him to try out for the Canadian Paralympic team. [3]
Gaertner joined Team Canada in 1998 and was selected to play for Canada at the 2000 Summer Paralympics. [5] After returning to the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign with a gold medal, [6] he helped the Manitoba Rolling Thunder win their first Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League championship title. [7] In 2002, he was one of four students who received the Wooddy Scholarship Award as someone who earned both academic and athletic acclaim. [8]
Later, he helped the Winnipeg Thunder win their third consecutive Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League championship title. [9] In 2004, Gaertner was named to Team Canada to compete at the 2004 Summer Paralympics [10] where he won gold. [11]
Gaertner earned his American citizenship in 2012 and qualified to compete with Team USA. [12] In May 2017, Gaertner began practicing handcycling under the coaching of Will Groulx and Tom Davis. [13] In 2018, he was named to the U.S. Paralympics Cycling Team for the 2018 UCI Road World Championships. [14]
Canada participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece. With 28 gold, 19 silver, and 25 bronze medals, the Canadian team placed third in the medal rankings, behind China and Great Britain. Wheelchair basketball player and three-time Paralympic gold medallist Chantal Benoit was the delegation's flag bearer at the opening ceremony.
Michelle Stilwell is a Canadian athlete and politician. She represented Canada at four Summer Paralympic Games, as well as the 2015 Parapan American Games. She competed in wheelchair basketball before becoming a wheelchair racer, and is the only female Paralympic athlete to win gold medals in two separate summer sport events.
Canada competed at the XI Paralympic Games in Sydney, Australia from October 18 to 29, 2000. The Canadian team included 166 athletes; 113 on foot and 53 on wheelchairs. Canada finished third in the medal table and won a total of ninety-six medals; thirty-eight gold, thirty-three silver and twenty-five bronze.
Shaun Daryl Norris, OAM is an Australian wheelchair basketball player. He was a member of the Rollers at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, his sixth Games.
Patrick Anderson is a Canadian wheelchair basketball player and a six-time member of Canada's Paralympic Team.
Chantal Benoit is a Canadian wheelchair basketball player. She is considered among the best female wheelchair basketball players of all time.
Rebecca Marie Murray is an American wheelchair basketball player and member of the United States women's national wheelchair basketball team. She is a three-time Parapan American Games gold medalist in 2007, 2011 and 2023. In 2010, she won two more gold medals at IWBF World Championship and at U25 World Championship in 2011.
Dennis Thiessen is a Canadian wheelchair curler who was part of the winning team in wheelchair curling for Canada at the 2014 Winter Paralympics. He played on the winning Canadian team at the 2013 World Wheelchair Curling Championship. His disability is that at seventeen he lost his leg. He is the only Manitoban on the team and lives in Sanford, Manitoba.
Joey Johnson is a professional Canadian wheelchair basketball player. He has competed in several Paralympics and World Championships and was also the first disabled athlete to be inducted in Manitoba's Basketball Hall of Fame.
Tom O'Neill-Thorne is a 3.0 point wheelchair basketball player from Australia. He was part of the Rollers team that won the 2014 Incheon World Wheelchair Basketball Championship. He was a member of the Rollers at the 2024 Summer Paralympics, his third Games.
Maureen Orchard was the president of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation from 2002 to 2014, and its secretary general from 2014 to 2018.
Rose Marie Hollermann is an American 3.5 point wheelchair basketball player and member of the United States women's national wheelchair basketball team. She who won gold at the 2011, and 2019 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship, the 2011, 2015 and 2023 Parapan American Games, and the 2016 Summer Paralympics. She also won bronze at the 2020 Summer Paralympics and the 2022 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.
Kendra Ohama is a Canadian retired wheelchair basketball player. As a member of Team Canada, she won three gold medals and one bronze during the Paralympic Games.
David "Dave" Durepos is a Canadian retired wheelchair basketball player. He is married to fellow Paralympian Sabrina Pettinicchi. As a member of Team Canada, Durepos competed in five Paralympic Games where he won 3 gold medals along with one silver. On September 25, 2012, the City of Fredericton proclaimed that date to be Dave Durepos Day.
Susan Katz is an American Paralympic wheelchair basketball player. She has won a gold medal at the 2004 Summer Paralympics. She was previously a producer at ESPN.
James Anseeuw is a Canadian Wheelchair curler. As the oldest Canadian Paralympic athlete, he helped Canada win a bronze medal at the 2018 Winter Paralympics in South Korea.
The UT Arlington Movin' Mavs men's wheelchair basketball team, previously known as the UTA Freewheelers, is the men's college wheelchair basketball team representing the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Established in 1976 as the UTA Freewheelers, the team played at the club level against other colleges and universities in Texas during the 1970s and 1980s. It has played under the auspices of the National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) since 1988, when the team was renamed the Movin' Mavs. Its inaugural coach, from 1976 until 2008, was Jim Hayes. The team was coached by Doug Garner from 2008 until 2022 when he retired. In fall of 2022, Aaron Gouge was hired as the new head coach for the team.
Bailey Grace Moody is an American wheelchair basketball player and a member of the United States women's national wheelchair basketball team. She represented the United States at the 2020 and 2024 Summer Paralympics.
Brian Marceleus Bell is an American wheelchair basketball player and a member of the United States men's national wheelchair basketball team.
Jacob Michael Williams is an American wheelchair basketball player and a member of the United States men's national wheelchair basketball team.
