Joshua Mark "Josh" Turek (born April 12, 1979) is an American politician serving as a member of the

Iowa House of Representatives The Iowa House of Representatives is the lower house of the Iowa General Assembly, the upper house being the Iowa Senate. There are 100 seats in the Iowa House of Representatives, representing 100 single-member districts across the state, formed ...

from the 20th district. He was formerly a

wheelchair basketball Wheelchair basketball is a style of basketball played using a sports wheelchair. The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) is the governing body for this sport. It is recognized by the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) as ...

player and a member of the

United States men's national wheelchair basketball team The United States men's national wheelchair basketball team began in 1955 when the Pam Am Jets brought wheelchair basketball to Europe at the International Stoke Mandville Games, albeit in the form of netball. Shortly following the Pan Am Jets' do ...

Political career

Turek announced he was running for Iowa's 20th House of Representatives district in March 2022. After a

recount An election recount is a repeat tabulation of votes cast in an election that is used to determine the correctness of an initial count. Recounts will often take place if the initial vote tally during an election is extremely close. Election reco ...

requested by his Republican opponent Sarah Abdouch, it was confirmed Turek won the election by six votes. He assumed office on January 9, 2023. He has worked extensively as an advocate for disabled people. He enters the Iowa state legislature as the first permanently disabled member in its history.

Paralympic career

Turek has represented the United States in

wheelchair basketball at the Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball has been contested at the Summer Paralympic Games since the 1960 Summer Paralympics in Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the admin ...

four times, finishing in seventh place in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, winning a bronze medal in

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

and gold medals in

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

and

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

Personal life

Turek was born with

spina bifida Spina bifida (SB; ; Latin for 'split spine') is a birth defect in which there is incomplete closing of the vertebral column, spine and the meninges, membranes around the spinal cord during embryonic development, early development in pregnancy. T ...

and has been a wheelchair user since childhood. His brother,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second E ...

, and sister, Elisha, are both retired professional basketball players.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Turek, Joshua 1979 births 21st-century American sportsmen 21st-century members of the Iowa General Assembly American athlete-politicians American men's wheelchair basketball players American politicians with disabilities Basketball players from Iowa Democratic Party members of the Iowa House of Representatives Living people Medalists at the 2011 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Paralympics Paralympic gold medalists for the United States Paralympic medalists in wheelchair basketball Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for the United States Parapan American Games medalists in wheelchair basketball Parapan American Games gold medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States People with spina bifida Sportspeople from Council Bluffs, Iowa Wheelchair basketball players at the 2004 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Wheelchair basketball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics