Name: Megan Blunk
Sport: Wheelchair Basketball
Classification: 3.0
Height: 5-3
Weight: 115
DOB: 9/12/1989
Birthplace: Tacoma, Wash.
Hometown: Gig Harbor, Wash.
High School: Peninsula High School (Gig Harbor, Wash.) ‘08
College: Tacoma Community College ’10, Arts and Sciences (associates); University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign ’14, Psychology (undergraduate); University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign ’17, Psychology (graduate)
Paralympic Experience
- One-time Paralympian (2016); One-time medalist (1 gold)
- Paralympic Games Rio 2016, gold
World Championship Experience
- Most recent: 2018 (Wheelchair Basketball) - 6th
- Years of competition: Paracanoe – 2013, 2014; Wheelchair basketball – 2018
- Medals: 2 (silvers)
- Silver: 2013 Paracanoe KL1; 2013 Paracanoe VL1
Personal:
An avid athlete from a young age, Blunk competed in soccer, basketball, volleyball, track and softball at Peninsula High School. Barely a month before graduation in 2008, she was a passenger in a motorcycle accident that broke 18 of her bones and paralyzed her from the waist down. Through her local YMCA, she found out about wheelchair basketball at age 19. Three years after her accident, she earned a scholarship to play wheelchair basketball at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. Since college, she has been an integral member of the U.S. women’s wheelchair basketball national team, helping them to win Paralympic gold at the Paralympic Games Rio 2016....Daughter of mother Wendy Ricketts, father David Blunk and step-mother Jackie Blunk…Has four sisters, Kelci, Shanae, Monique and Alaisa.…Hobbies include volleyball, basketball, kayaking, camping, swimming, go-karting, hanging out with friends, watching movies and documentaries and playing board games…Loves animals, especially dogs…Competed in Paracanoe for Team USA, winning silver medals at the 2013 Paracanoe World Championships…Aspires to be a counselor and motivational speaker for youth.
