Sept. 8, 2021
Media Advisory: UArizona Paralympians Celebration
- What: Reception honoring 2020 Paralympians with University of Arizona ties
- When: Friday, Sept. 10, 6 p.m.
- Where: Courtyard of the University of Arizona Environment and Natural Resources 2 building, 1064 E. Lowell St.
- RSVP: Please email media_requests@list.arizona.edu if you plan to attend.
TUCSON, Ariz. — The University of Arizona this week will welcome home Wildcat athletes who took part in the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo with a reception held in their honor.
More than a dozen current and former Wildcats took part in the Tokyo Games, competing in eight different sports and representing three different countries – the U.S., Canada and Japan – as well as the Refugee Paralympic Team. The athletes brought home 10 medals: one gold, four silver and five bronze.
Gold
- Whitney Dosty, UArizona alumna – sitting volleyball
Silver
- Chuck Aoki, UArizona alumnus – wheelchair rugby
- Chad Cohn, UArizona coach – wheelchair rugby
- Lee Fredette, UArizona team member – wheelchair rugby
- Josh Wheeler, UArizona student-athlete – wheelchair rugby
Bronze
- Darlene Hunter, UArizona alumna – wheelchair basketball
- Natalie Schneider, UArizona alumna – wheelchair basketball
- Josie Aslakson, UArizona alumna – wheelchair basketball
- Courtney Ryan, UArizona alumna – wheelchair basketball
- Daisuke Ikezaki, UArizona alumnus – wheelchair rugby (Japan)
The reception also will recognize members of the Adaptive Athletics Hall of Fame following an induction ceremony for former university president Peter Likins earlier Friday evening at the university's Disability Resource Center. Likins joins three previous Hall of Fame inductees: former Wildcat Paralympians Cheri Blauwet, a wheelchair racing legend and 2002 alumnus of UArizona, and Renee Tyree, a wheelchair basketball pioneer and 1988 and 1993 alumnus of UArizona, along with longtime Adaptive Athletics supporters Jim and Vicki Click, who went into the hall as a single entry.
The 6 p.m. event will include remarks from Jim Click, Adaptive Athletics director Peter Hughes and Amanda Kraus, assistant vice president for campus life and executive director of the Disability Resource Center.
Due to space limitations at the DRC, no media will be admitted to the induction ceremony. However, photos and video from both the Hall of Fame induction and Paralympians reception will be available in Box after the events.
Media contacts:
Peter Hughes
Adaptive Athletics
Office: 520-626-5499 | Cell: 619-249-1885
pthughes@arizona.edu
Jason Ground
University Communications
Office: 520-621-8563 | Cell: 520-954-0715
jground@arizona.edu
The University of Arizona, a land-grant university with two independently accredited medical schools, is one of the nation's top 40 public universities, according to U.S. News & World Report. Established in 1885, the university is widely recognized as a student-centric university and has been designated as a Hispanic Serving Institution by the U.S. Department of Education. The university ranked in the top 20 in 2019 in research expenditures among all public universities, according to the National Science Foundation, and is a leading Research 1 institution with $734 million in annual research expenditures. The university advances the frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 66 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. It benefits the state with an estimated economic impact of $4.1 billion annually. For the latest on the University of Arizona response to the novel coronavirus, visit the university's COVID-19 webpage.