Anjali Forber-Pratt
Anjali Forber-Pratt (born June 22, 1984) is an American wheelchair racer who competes in sprint events at the Paralympic level.
Born in Kolkata, India and abandoned by her mother, Forber-Pratt was adopted by Lawrence Pratt and Rosalind Forber when she was 2.5 months old. Raised in Natick, Massachusetts, Forber-Pratt was diagnosed with transverse myelitis when she was four-and-a-half months old; the disorder left her paralyzed from the waist, down.[1] Forber-Pratt began racing at the national level in 1993 with an appearance at the Junior National Wheelchair Games, and went on to compete at the games three more times—in 1996, 1998, and 2003—winning a total of four gold, six silver, and two bronze medals.[2] She is currently the World Record [3] and American Record holder in the 200-meter.[4] As a student at Natick High School, Forber-Pratt also competed in downhill skiing before graduating in 2002.[1][2]
Forber-Pratt is a three-time graduate from the University of Illinois and is an alumni member of the school's wheelchair track and field team.[1] She has received a bachelor's and master's degree [2] in Speech Language Pathology from Illinois and earned her Ph.D. in Human Resource Education in May 2012.[5]
Her first major international competition was the 2007 Parapan American Games in Rio de Janeiro,[1] where she won two gold medals in the 100-meter and 200-meter races and a bronze in the 400-meter.[2] At the 2008 Beijing Paralympics, she won a bronze medal in the 400-meter T53 event with a personal best time of 56.79 seconds[6] and another bronze in the 4×100-meter relay T53–T54. She also competed in the 100-meter and 200-meter in Beijing, finishing sixth and fourth, respectively. She competed at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London on Team USA in the 100m, 200m and 400m T53 events.
Forber-Pratt is a Board Member of Disabled Sports USA. Founded in 1967, Disabled Sports USA is an organization that provides opportunities for more than 60,000 youth, wounded warriors, and adults with disabilities each year to develop independence, confidence, and fitness through participation in disabled sports.[7] Forber-Pratt is a Board member of the Transverse Myelitis Association.[8]
Forber-Pratt is also a disability advocate, and in 2002 was involved in a legal battle with her high school, fighting for equal access to education for students with disabilities. She is currently an assistant research at Vanderbilt University in the Department of Human & Organizational Development.[9]
References
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- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ Disabled Sports USA website = Board Members
- ↑ TMA website
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External links
- Official website not in Wikidata
- 1984 births
- Living people
- American wheelchair racers
- Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
- Illinois Fighting Illini Paralympic athletes
- Paralympic track and field athletes of the United States
- Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States
- People from Natick, Massachusetts
- Sportspeople from Massachusetts
- Female wheelchair racers
- Paralympic wheelchair racers
