Christina Ripp
Champaign, Illinois
Wheelchair Basketball

Christina Ripp, a student at the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana, has been involved in wheelchair basketball since she was eleven years old. She was selected as an alternate for the 1996 US Paralympic Team and was a member of the 1998 and 2002 Women’s Gold Cup teams, winning a silver medal each year. In 1998, Christina was also selected to the five member Women’s All-World team as a result of her play at the Gold Cup tournament.
Christina had a breakthrough year on the roads and on the track in 2002. She finished second in the Boston Marathon in 1 hour, 49 minutes, 32 seconds. She then topped that performance in July at the International Paralympic Committee’s Athletics WorldChampionships in Lille, France.

Making her international track and field debut, Christina recorded one of the biggest upsets of the championships when she grabbed control of the 5,000 meter with one lap remaining and out-sprinted perennial powerhouse Louise Sauvage of Australia to win in 13:28. She also won the silver medal in the 800 meter in 1:56.2.

In 2003 Christina continued her roadway success by taking the 107th running of the Boston marathon by just 30 seconds over her top rival Cheri Blauwet. Following that win Ripp won the prestigious Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta by a mere 10th of a second over Blauwet. However she was denied wins in New York City and Boston and settled for 2nd and 12th place respectively.

However Ripp will be competing in Athens this summer at the 2004 Paralympic games as a member of the US Women’s wheelchair basketball team.