Jennifer "Jen" Armbruster (born February 12, 1975 in

Taipei , nickname = The City of Azaleas , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Taiwan#Asia#Pacific Ocean#Earth , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country ...

) is an American

goalball Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a visual impairment, vision impairment. Participants compete in teams of three, and try to throw a ball with bells embedded inside it into the opponents' goal. The ball is throw ...

player.

Early life

Born to Ken Armbruster whom served as Head Coach for the U.S. Women’s Goalball Team from 1996 to 2016. Armbruster began losing her vision at 14, but continued to play in her school's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

team, but her vision loss progressed to the point of being

legally blind Visual or vision impairment (VI or VIP) is the partial or total inability of visual perception. In the absence of treatment such as corrective eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment, visual impairment may cause the individual difficul ...

. She later lost her vision completely and therefore did not join the military like her father. Instead she found success in

and played at the

1992 Summer Paralympics The 1992 Summer Paralympics (; ) were the ninth Paralympic Games to be held. They were held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. In addition, the 1992 Paralympic Games for Persons with mental handicap were held immediately after the regular Paralymp ...

and several Paralympic Games since. She has won a gold medal.

Career

Armbruster was introduced to paralympic in 1990. In 1992, she competed in her first Paralympic Games. In 1996, she was part of the Team USA at the Atlanta where the team earned bronze. At the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, she helped the team to win silver medal after which she was elected flag bearer by all of the U.S. Paralympic team.

Personal life

She was married to fellow teammate

Asya Miller Asya Miller Lapper (born October 16, 1979) is a five-time Paralympic medalist, with four of her medals coming in goalball. Miller was nominated for an ESPY Award in 2009. Miller made her Paralympic debut in 2000 and won a bronze medal for dis ...

. Her current wife is Jackie Bower, whom she shares a son and 3 other children with.

References

External links

* * 1975 births Living people American female goalball players Paralympic goalball players for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in goalball Goalball players at the 1992 Summer Paralympics Goalball players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Goalball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Goalball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Goalball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 1996 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Parapan American Games gold medalists for the United States Parapan American Games silver medalists for the United States Parapan American Games medalists in goalball Goalball players at the 2011 Parapan American Games Goalball players at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games LGBTQ goalball players University of Northern Colorado alumni Sam Houston State University alumni Sportspeople from Taipei 20th-century American sportswomen 21st-century American sportswomen {{Goalball-bio-stub

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links