Mareike Miller facts for kids
Mareike (Adermann) Miller with the gold medal after winning the women's wheelchair basketball competition at the London Paralympic Games 2012.
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Germany |
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| Born | 3 August 1990 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | facebook.com/mareikemiller | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Germany | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 4.5 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Wheelchair Basketball | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| College team | University of Wisconsin-Whitewater | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Doneck Dolphins Trier | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Dirk Passiwan | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paralympic finals | 2012 Paralympics, 2016 Paralympics | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Mareike Miller (born August 3, 1990) is a talented German wheelchair basketball player. She is known as a 4.5 point player, which means she has a minimal disability. Mareike played for the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the United States. She is also a key player for the German national team. With her team, she has won many awards, including two European titles. She also earned silver medals at the 2010 and 2014 World Championships. Mareike won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London. Later, she earned a silver medal at the 2016 Rio Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro. Germany's President Joachim Gauck awarded her team the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf) twice. This is Germany's highest sports honor.
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Challenges
Mareike Miller was born on August 3, 1990. Her parents are Karl-Heinz and Kristin. She also has a brother named Nils. Her nickname is "MA".
Mareike started playing basketball when she was seven years old. At 14, she played her first game with a women's senior club team in Germany. In that game, she suffered a serious knee injury. She tore her anterior cruciate ligament.
Over the next four years, Mareike had four knee surgeries. Three were on her right knee, and one on her left. Each time, it took her eight months to recover. Sadly, she would injure her knee again just weeks after returning to play.
Discovering Wheelchair Basketball
At 18, Mareike had to stop playing regular basketball. It was her dream, but her knees could not handle it. Her physical education teacher suggested she try wheelchair basketball. Mareike had never heard of it before.
Even though she plays wheelchair basketball, Mareike does not need a wheelchair for daily life. She is classified as a 4.5 point player because her disability is minimal. Being able to move her body fully gives the 180 cm tall center an advantage. However, she found that shooting from a wheelchair requires a lot of strength. It is like shooting from the three-point line while standing.
One of the greatest pleasures of life is doing the things that others say you can not do.
—Mareike Miller
College and National Team Success
When Mareike started wheelchair basketball in 2008, she did not plan to join the national team. But with hard work and daily practice, she made the team in just one year. That same year, she began playing for ASV Bonn in Germany.
In 2009, Mareike started attending the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the United States. She studied business administration there. She found the training in the US much more intense than in Germany. German clubs often trained only two or three times a week. In the US, training was every day. Weight rooms were open 24/7. During summer breaks in Germany, she trained with other teams.
In 2011, she became the captain of the German Under 25 (U25) National team. They competed in their first ever World Championships.
Paralympic Glory
In March 2012, Mareike's UWW Warhawks team won the US Intercollegiate National Championships. They beat the University of Alabama 63–34. Mareike scored 17 points and had 13 rebounds in that game. Later that year, she trained in Australia, the Netherlands, and North Carolina. These camps prepared her for the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London.
In the Gold Medal match in London, Germany played against the Australia women's national wheelchair basketball team. Australia had beaten them just months before. Over 12,000 fans watched the game. The German team had been undefeated in the tournament. Mareike scored 19 points, more than any other player. She was a key reason Germany won 58–44.
Mareike said that her shots were not "crazy shots." She explained that Australia might have underestimated her. They left her open often, and she made many important shots. It was Germany's first Paralympic gold medal in women's wheelchair basketball since 1984.
In November 2012, President Joachim Gauck awarded the team the Silver Laurel Leaf. They were also named German Team of the Year for 2012. Mareike later wrote, "Many times, I was told that after winning a gold medal, I have achieved the most I can, so I could quit now. But I disagree."
Continuing Her Journey
After a tough loss in the European Championship final in 2013, the German team bounced back. They won a silver medal at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto, Canada.
In 2015, Mareike had more knee surgeries. This meant she could not play with the German team. But she returned for the 2016 Paralympic Games. There, her team won a silver medal after losing to the United States in the final.
After the 2016 Paralympics, many players and the head coach retired. Mareike stayed as one of the experienced players. She now plays for Martin Otto, the PE teacher who first encouraged her to try the sport. As one of the team captains, she helped her team win another European Championship silver medal in 2017. This showed the team could still play at a high level, even with many changes.
In 2018, the World Championships were held in Hamburg, Germany. Mareike captained the team in front of her home crowd. She lives in Hamburg and plays for the professional team BG Baskets Hamburg.
Mareike also competed in women's wheelchair basketball at the 2024 Summer Paralympics in Paris, France. Germany finished in 6th place overall.
Achievements
- 2009: Gold at the European Championships
- 2009: Silver at German Women's National Championships
- 2010: Silver at the Women's World Championships
- 2010: Bronze at the U22 mixed European Championships
- 2010: Gold at German Women's National Championships
- 2011: Silver at German Women's National Championships
- 2011: Gold at the European Championships (Nazareth, Israel)
- 2012: Intercollegiate Champion
- 2012: Silver at German Women's National Championships
- 2012: Gold at the Paralympic Games (London, England)
- 2013: Intercollegiate Champion
- 2013: Silver European Championships (Frankfurt, Germany)
- 2014: Intercollegiate Champion
- 2014: Silver at the World Championships (Toronto, Canada)
- 2016: Silver at the Paralympic Games (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- 2017: Silver European Championships
- 2018: Bronze at the World Championships (Hamburg, Germany)
- 2019: Silver European Championships
- 2021: 4th Place and German Flagbearer at the Paralympic Games (Tokyo, Japan)
- 2023: 4th Place World Championships
- 2023: 4th Place European Championships
- 2024: 6th Place at the Paralympic Games (Paris, France)
Awards
- 2011, 2012, 2014, 2016: Team of the Year
- 2012 and 2014: Silver Laurel Leaf
Images for kids
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See also
In Spanish: Mareike Adermann para niños
