Leah Evans

Leah Evans (born 5 March 1997) is a 2.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing.

Leah Evans
Evans in 2015
Personal information
Nationality United Kingdom
Born (1997-03-05) 5 March 1997
Wakefield
Height5'7"
Sport
CountryGreat Britain
SportWheelchair basketball
Disability class2.0
Event(s)Women's team
ClubSheffield Steelers
Medal record
Wheelchair basketball
U25 Women's World Championships
2015 Beijing, ChinaWomen's wheelchair basketball
European Championships
2015 Worcester, EnglandWomen's wheelchair basketball
2017 Tenriffe, SpainWomen's wheelchair basketball
Women's World Championships
2018 Hamburg, GermanyWomen's wheelchair basketball

Biography

Leah Evans was born in Wakefield,[1] on 5 March 1997.[2] She was born with a rare hip condition that restricted her growth and movement. When she was four years old, she was told that she would never walk. However, she did and also danced six days a week. In 2012, she suffered a serious fall.[3] She was taken to hospital where her hip was surgically reconstructed. She was given the news that she would require a wheelchair, and would not be able to dance.[1]

Although Evans had never been what she calls a "sporty type",[1] she took up wheelchair basketball in 2013.[3] She is a 2.5 point player.[4] She began playing for the Sheffield Steelers. She played for England North at the Sainsbury's School Games in 2013, winning gold,[5] and was captain of the team in 2014,[6] winning silver. That year she played with the U25 national team at the European Championships in Hanover, Germany, where she won silver, and with the Steelers at the Copper Box in the National Paralympic Day game against the Netherlands. In 2015, she made her debut with the senior team at the Osaka Cup in Japan, winning silver, won a gold medal at the 2015 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Beijing,[7] and played for the senior team at European Championships in Worcester, winning bronze.[4] She launched an appeal to help buy a new sports chair, which costs £3750.[1] In May 2016, she was named as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.[8] The British team produced its best ever performance at the Paralympics, making it to the semi-finals, but lost in the semi-final to the United States, and then the bronze medal match to the Netherlands.[9]

Evans completed her A-levels, and in September 2015 entered the University of Worcester, where she intends to study Sports Science.[10][1]

Achievements

References
  1. "Appeal launched to support disabled basketball players GB Dream". Caudwell Children. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  2. Team Entry List, U25 World Championship for Women. Beijing: International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. 2015.
  3. "Help get Leah to the Rio Paralympic Games". The Star. 9 August 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  4. "Great Britain - European Wheelchair Basketball Championship 2015". International Wheelchair Basketball Federation. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  5. "Leah Evans". British Wheelchair Basketball. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  6. "Squad Announcement: Wheelchair Basketball". Sainsbury's 2015 School Games. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  7. "Great Britain crowned Women's U25 World Champions!". British Wheelchair Basketball. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 6 July 2015.
  8. "British women's wheelchair basketball team named for Rio". International Paralympic Committee. 13 May 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  9. Berkeley, Geoff (17 September 2016). "University of Worcester-based GB women's wheelchair basketball team miss out on bronze medal to dominant Dutch in Rio Paralympics". Worcester News. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  10. "Leah Evans". Facebook. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  11. "Germany earn 10th women's European Wheelchair Basketball Championship title as hosts Britain win men's gold". Inside the Games. Retrieved 9 September 2015.
  12. "Summary - Wheelchair Basketball". International Paralympic Committee. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  13. "Sophie Carrigill". British Wheelchair Basketball. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  14. "NED v GBR". FIBA LiveStats. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
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