Gig Harbor’s Megan Blunk has officially returned from Rio after competing in the Paralympics in wheelchair women’s basketball. But not only did she compete in women’s basketball, Blunk was part of the gold medal-winning team.
“It was awesome, we played at the top of our game and it was really cool to see after all our hard work,” Blunk said. “It was a good opportunity to put myself out there and really push myself and be at the top level that was amazing.”
Blunk’s road to the Paralympics has not been easy. She was paralyzed after a devastating motorcycle crash in 2008 and to this day has no movement from her knees down.
“Because of the accident, when I had everything taken away from me I only had two choices. My depression got so bad I didn’t really want to live anymore, and I couldn’t live like that, and I wasn’t going to die anytime soon, so I had to figure out, and I just started pushing myself,” Blunk said.
It wasn’t long before she discovered her love for wheelchair basketball. Her success at the game took over from Gig Harbor to the University of Illinois, where she played college ball. And then she made it to the top of her sport with the Paralympics.
Blunk said she may try to compete in the 2020 Paralympics, but she also wants to do more work with schools, teaching kids to keep working through tough times. In the future, she also plans to teach more people the sport of wheelchair basketball.
On Wednesday, she will be at the White House with other Paralympians after they were invited to Washington D.C. by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama.
