Warhawk Bold meets Paralympic Gold
September 09, 2024
Written by Chris Lindeke | Photos courtesy of the USOPC
Seven current or former members of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball programs won gold medals at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, continuing a strong tradition of Warhawk success on the sport’s international stage.
John Boie, AJ Fitzpatrick, Nate Hinze, Talen Jourdan, Jeromie Meyer and Jake Williams were each part of the Team USA men, who defeated Great Britain 73-69 in the championship game to finish an undefeated run through the tournament and clinch the team’s third consecutive Paralympic title.
Jake Williams dribbles against Team Great Britain in the men’s wheelchair basketball gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Sept. 7, 2024. He led the Team USA men in scoring to lead the team to a 73-69 victory. (Photo courtesy of Joe Kusumoto/USOPC)
Hinze and Williams are now three-time gold medalists in the Paralympics. Williams led Team USA with a game-high 26 points in the gold medal victory. Boie, a member of the starting lineup with Williams, earned his second gold medal.
John Boie attempts a shot against Team Great Britain in the men’s wheelchair basketball gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Sept. 7, 2024. He played nearly all 40 minutes of the game to help the team to a 73-69 victory. (Photo courtesy of Joe Kusumoto/USOPC)
Fitzpatrick, a current human performance major at UW-Whitewater, Jourdan, and Meyer claimed their first gold medals competing in their first Paralympic Games.
The performance capped an incredible run through the sport for several Warhawks over the last 12 months. Williams, Fitzpatrick and Jourdan were each part of the Warhawks’ 2024 National Wheelchair Basketball Association intercollegiate national championship in March. Boie and Meyer joined the trio on the gold medal-winning Team USA at the 2023 Parapan Games last November.
Warhawk alum Mariska Beijer became a two-time gold medalist after leading the Team Netherlands women to a second consecutive first-place finish. One of the world’s top players, Beijer tallied 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Dutch’s 63-49 win against Team USA in the gold medal game.
Mariska Beijer, at right, defends a shot attempt against Team USA in the women’s wheelchair basketball gold medal game at the 2024 Paris Paralympics on Sept. 8, 2024. Beijer earned her fourth career medal — and second gold — by helping Team Netherlands to a 73-59 win. (Photo courtesy of Mark Reis/USOPC)
Warhawk silver medalists included those who were part of the Team USA women — Becca Murray, Lindsey Zurbrugg, coach Christina Schwab, assistant coach Desiree Miller, and support staff member Kearstin (Gehlhausen) Bisnett. Murray is now a four-time Paralympics medalist, and Zurbrugg is a two-time medalist. Schwab, the former UW-Whitewater women’s coach who currently works in the First Year Experience office, was a three-time gold medalist as a player in 2004, 2008 and 2016, and now a first-time medalist as the national team’s coach. Bisnett, a former student manager for the UW-Whitewater women, was also involved on the Team USA support staff in 2016.
Christina Schwab, left, reaches to embrace Lindsey Zurbrugg following the Team USA women’s semifinal win against China on Sept. 6, 2024, at the Paris Paralympic Games. Team USA went on to earn the silver medal. (Photo courtesy of Mark Reis/USOPC)
Other Warhawk alumni who competed at the Paralympic Games include Sammy White, whose Team Australia men finished fifth, and Vanessa Erskine and Mareike (Adermann) Miller, who helped the Team Germany women place sixth.
UW-Whitewater’s wheelchair basketball programs were highlighted in a feature by The Athletic, the sports vertical of The New York Times, in late August just ahead of the start of the Paralympic Games. The piece was published online before appearing in the August 30 print edition of the Times.
UW-Whitewater’s eight current or former student-athletes who represented Team USA in wheelchair basketball were more than any other school in the country.
Becca Murray attempts a shot during Team USA’s quarterfinal victory against Great Britain on Sept. 4, 2024, at the Paris Paralympic Games. Murray is now a four-time medalist for Team USA. (Photo courtesy of Mark Reis/USOPC)
