Maya Lindholm facts for kids
Maya Lindholm in Sydney, July 2012
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Nationality |  Germany |
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| Born | 20 December 1990 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Germany | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Wheelchair basketball | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Power forward | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Disability class | 2.5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Event(s) | Women's team | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Team | Hamburger SV BG Baskets Hamburg |
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| Coached by | Holger Glinicki | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paralympic finals | 2012 Paralympics, 2016 Paralympics | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Maya Lindholm (born December 20, 1990) is an amazing German wheelchair basketball player. She was part of the German national team that won a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London! Her team also won European titles and earned silver medals at World Championships and the 2016 Paralympics. For their incredible success, the team was even awarded Germany's highest sports honor, the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt (Silver Laurel Leaf).
Contents
Maya's Journey to Wheelchair Basketball
Maya Lindholm was born in Hamburg, Germany, on December 20, 1990. In 2004, when she was 13, Maya woke up with severe back pain. Within hours, she could no longer move her legs. Doctors found she had spinal cord inflammation.
Maya is studying to become an occupational therapist. This job helps people get back to their daily activities. She started playing wheelchair basketball for fun in 2005 at a hospital. She quickly fell in love with the sport!
Joining the National Team
By 2009, Maya's skills were so good that she was chosen for the German national team. She is known as a 2.5 point player. This is a classification system in wheelchair basketball. It helps make sure teams are fair and balanced. Maya plays as a power forward. This position often involves scoring points and getting rebounds.
In 2011, Maya and her team won the European Championships in Israel. This big win meant they qualified for the 2012 Summer Paralympic Games in London. To get ready, the team traveled to the United States and Australia for practice games.
Winning Gold at the Paralympics
The German team played very well in London. They won all their games in the group stage. In the final match, they faced the Australian team. This was exciting because Australia had beaten them just a few months before.
In front of a huge crowd of almost 13,000 fans, the German team played their best. They defeated Australia 58–44 to win the gold medal! This was Germany's first gold in women's wheelchair basketball since 1984.
After their victory, President Joachim Gauck gave the team the Silver Laurel Leaf. This is Germany's highest award for sports. The team was also named "Team of the Year in Disability Sports" for 2012.
Club and International Success
Maya also played for her local team, Hamburger SV. This team was very strong, with other national teammates like Mareike Adermann and Edina Müller. In 2013, her club team won the German women's national championship for the eighth time! Maya had also helped them win it in 2010.
The German national team continued to achieve great things. They won silver at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Canada. In 2015, they won the European Championships again, claiming their tenth European title! At the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, they won a silver medal after a tough final game against the United States.
Major Achievements
Here are some of Maya Lindholm's top achievements:
- 2010: German Women's National League champion (with Hamburg SV)
- 2010: Silver medal at the IWBF World Championships (Birmingham, Great Britain)
- 2011: Gold medal at the European Wheelchair Basketball Championships (Nazareth, Israel)
- 2012: Gold medal at the Paralympic Games (London, England)
- 2013: German Women's National League champion (with Hamburg SV)
- 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 Received
Maya Lindholm and her team have received special recognition for their success:
- 2012: Team of the Year
- 2012: Silver Laurel Leaf
