Published: August 29, 2008 10:54 pm      

UCO sends 15 athletes to Paralympic Games in Beijing

The University of Central Oklahoma will bid good luck and farewell to its 15 Paralympic athletes and three university Paralympic representatives as they leave for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing throughout the course of next week.

This year’s Paralympic Games will be held from Sept. 6-17, with athletes leaving for Beijing on Sunday, Aug. 31, and support staff following shortly after in the days proceeding.

Of the 15 athletes going to compete, 12 will be women from the U.S. Women’s Sitting Volleyball team, including UCO resident athletes Nichole Millage, Kari Miller and Lora Webster.

The team has been training and preparing throughout the summer at UCO’s Wellness Center and has high hopes to bring home the gold after winning the bronze medal at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece.

UCO resident athlete and Paralympic archer T.J. Pemberton will be making his first appearance at this year’s Games. He is ranked sixth in the world for disabled archers and has competed on both the national and international levels.

Katrin Green, a member of the German Paralympic track and field team, and Jim Bob Bizzell, a U.S. track and field member, will also go to Beijing to compete.

Green has been training at UCO to represent her home country and will run in the 100- and 200-meter sprint competitions.

Bizzell, of Abilene, TX, has also been training at UCO and will compete in the 200- and 400-meter races.

Other UCO representatives traveling to Beijing include Katrina Shaklee, UCO Wellness Center Director of Sport Performance; Krista Fagala, UCO health and education student; and Adam Saldana, Endeavor Games medalist.

Shaklee will work with the U.S. Paralympics as a communications officer, communicating with the U.S. media in various sports.

Fagala will work as a student intern for the U.S. Paralympics, assisting with the Paralympic Academy and performing other duties during the Games.

Selected as one of 25 student athletes with a physical disability from throughout the country to attend the 2008 International Paralympic Academy, Sept. 5-11, Saldana, age 16, will participate in ceremonies and events at the Games.

UCO is one of two designated U.S. Paralympic Training Sites in the nation, committed to providing those with disabilities the resources necessary to participate in sports and enhance their ability to reach the highest levels of competition.

This year’s Paralympic Games will be the first held since UCO was named a training site.

In addition to hosting Paralympic resident athletes on its campus, UCO is also involved in many United States Olympic Committee (USOC) programs, such as USOC Community Partner, the U.S. Paralympic Military Program and the Veterans Paralympic Performance Program.

U.S. Paralympics is a division of the USOC. Formed in 2001 to increase support for Paralympic sport in the USA, Paralympics promotes Olympic ideals throughout the American population, especially among those Americans who have physical disabilities.

For more information, contact Ryan Wilson at

974-3127.