Johanna Welin facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Johanna Welin

Johanna Welin
Personal information
Nationality	Germany
Born	(1984-06-24) 24 June 1984 (age 41) Pajala, Sweden
Sport
Country	Germany
Sport	Wheelchair basketball
Disability class	2.0
Event(s)	Women's team
Team	USC Munich
Achievements and titles
Paralympic finals	2012 Summer Paralympics, 2016 Paralympics
Medal record Women's wheelchair basketball Representing  Germany Paralympic Games Gold 2012 London Team competition Silver 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team competition IWBF World Championship Silver 2014 Toronto Team competition Bronze 2018 Hamburg Team competition

Johanna Welin (born June 24, 1984) is a talented wheelchair basketball player. She was born in Sweden but plays for Germany. Johanna is known for being a "2.0 point" player in wheelchair basketball. She played for USC Munich in Germany's wheelchair basketball league. She was also a key part of the German national team that won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. After their big win, the team received a special award called the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf) from the German President.

Johanna Welin's Journey

Early Life and Sports

Johanna Welin was born on June 24, 1984, in Pajala, a small town in Sweden. This town is close to the border with Finland and about 100 kilometers north of the Arctic Circle. Growing up, Johanna loved sports. She played football for a team called Töreboda IK in the Swedish league. When winter came, her favorite sport was snowboarding.

A Life-Changing Accident

In January 2004, Johanna had a serious snowboarding accident. It happened during a competition in Gothenburg. This accident caused her to become paralyzed from the waist down. This meant she could no longer use her legs in the same way.

Discovering Wheelchair Basketball

After her accident, Johanna found a new passion: wheelchair basketball. She started playing for GRBK Gothenburg in the Swedish league. However, Sweden did not have a national women's team for wheelchair basketball.

Johanna later moved to Germany. She began playing for USC Munich, first on their second team. Her skills quickly caught the eye of Holger Glinicki, who was the coach for the German national team. He asked her if she would like to play for Germany.

Playing for Germany

Johanna decided to become a German citizen, which was a smooth process for an athlete. She then joined the German national team. In 2011, her team won the gold medal at the European Championships in Nazareth, Israel. They beat the Netherlands in the final game with a score of 48–42.

Paralympic Success

In June 2012, Johanna was chosen to be part of the German team for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London. They faced the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team in the final. Australia had beaten them just a few months earlier. But in London, the German team won 58–44 in front of over 12,000 fans. This was Germany's first gold medal in women's wheelchair basketball at the Paralympics since 1984!

After this amazing win, the team received another Silver Laurel Leaf award. They were also named "Team of the Year" for 2012. In February 2013, Johanna's name was added to the Golden Book of Munich, a special honor.

More Medals and Achievements

The German team continued to achieve great things. In 2014, they won a silver medal at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto, Canada. In 2015, they won their tenth European title by beating the Netherlands again at the European Championships. At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, they won a silver medal after losing to the United States in the final.

Life Beyond the Court

Besides playing basketball, Johanna has also worked as a model. She has appeared in advertising campaigns for team sponsors like ING DiBa and LoFric. She is also studying medicine in Munich.

Major Achievements

• 2011: Gold medal at the European Championships (Nazareth, Israel)
• 2012: Gold medal at the Paralympic Games (London, England)
• 2013: Silver medal at the European Championships (Frankfurt, Germany)
• 2014: Silver medal at the World Championships (Toronto, Canada)
• 2015: Gold medal at the European Championships (Worcester, England)
• 2016: Silver medal at the Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

Awards and Honors

• 2012: Team of the Year
• 2012: Silver Laurel Leaf
• 2013: Entry in the Golden Book of Munich

Images for kids

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  Johanna Welin in the game against Japan

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  Johanna Welin in the game against Japan

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  Johanna Welin in the game against Japan