Rebecca Meyers (born November 20, 1994) is an American

Paralympic The Paralympic Games or Paralympics is a periodic series of international multisport events involving athletes with a range of disabilities. There are Winter and Summer Paralympic Games, which since the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, South Kore ...

swimmer. She won three gold and one silver medals in Rio 2016. She was also a member of the 2012 Paralympic Team, and won a silver and bronze in London. Rebecca Meyers has also competed at the

2009 Summer Deaflympics The 2009 Summer Deaflympics (), officially known as the 21st Summer Deaflympics was an international multi-sport event from 5 to 15 September 2009 in Taipei, Taiwan (Republic of China). It was the third Summer Deaflympics to be held in the Asi ...

which was held in

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

, which is also her only appearance at the

Deaflympics The Deaflympics, also known as Deaflympiad (previously called World Games for the Deaf, and International Games for the Deaf) are a periodic series of multi-sport events sanctioned by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) at which deaf athle ...

. She also clinched a bronze medal in the freestyle relay event in the

Biography

Meyers has

Usher syndrome Usher syndrome, also known as Hallgren syndrome, Usher–Hallgren syndrome, retinitis pigmentosa–dysacusis syndrome or dystrophia retinae dysacusis syndrome, is a rare genetic disorder caused by a mutation in any one of at least 11 genes result ...

and has been deaf since she was born. Since she was young she has used a

cochlear implant A cochlear implant (CI) is a surgically implanted Neuroprosthetics, neuroprosthesis that provides a person who has moderate-to-profound sensorineural hearing loss with sound perception. With the help of therapy, cochlear implants may allow for imp ...

, an electronic device that allows her to hear. Meyers is also losing her vision to a disease called

retinitis pigmentosa Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a member of a group of genetic disorders called inherited retinal dystrophy (IRD) that cause loss of vision. Symptoms include trouble seeing at night and decreasing peripheral vision (side and upper or lower visua ...

(RP), and has a

Seeing Eye dog ''Seeing Eye Dog'' is the seventh studio album by the American alternative metal band Helmet, released on September 7, 2010, via Work Song, the label imprint shared by singer/songwriter Joe Henry and Helmet mainman Page Hamilton's manager. It ...

named Birdie, who helps her navigate the world. In 2015 and 2017, Meyers received a Best Female Athlete with a Disability ESPY Award. She won gold in record time at the

2016 Summer Paralympics The 2016 Summer Paralympics (), the 15th Summer Paralympic Games, were a major international multi-sport event for disabled sports, athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee, held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, f ...

. She grew up in Baltimore, attended Notre Dame Prep and went on to graduate from

Franklin and Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1787 as Franklin College and later merged with Marshall College in 1853, it is one of the oldest colleges in the United St ...

in Lancaster, Pennsylvania where she studied history with a concentration in Disability Studies. She was a club swimmer with Loyola Blakefield Aquatics for eleven years. In 2012, she joined

North Baltimore Aquatic Club The North Baltimore Aquatic Club (NBAC) is a swim club based in and around Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1968, it continues to offer training for young swimmers. It is best known for developing a dozen Olympic Games, Olympic swimmers, six of who ...

where Michael Phelps trained. Becca then switched to Nation's Capital Swim Club located in Bethesda, MD, where she trains under Bruce Gemmell, Katie Ledecky's coach. She holds multiple world records in the S13 and S12 classes. In June 2021 the US announced the 34 Paralympic swimmers who would be going to the delayed

2020 Summer Paralympics The , branded as the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, were an international multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 24 August to 5 September 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. They were the 16th Summer Paralympic Games as organized by the Inte ...

in Tokyo. The women's team was Meyers,

Jessica Long Jessica Tatiana Long (born February 29, 1992) is a Russian-born American Paralympic swimmer from Baltimore, Maryland, who competes in the S8_(classification), S8, SB7 and SM8 category events. She has held many world records and competed at six ...

, McKenzie Coan, Elizabeth Marks and Mallory Weggemann. On July 20, 2021, Meyers withdrew from the Paralympics after being denied her request for a

personal care assistant Unlicensed assistive personnel (UAP) are paraprofessionals who assist individuals with physical disabilities, mental impairments, and other health care needs with their activities of daily living (ADLs). UAPs also provide bedside care—inclu ...

due to reduced allocation of staff members amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

International

2019: London, England World Para Swimming Championships * 1 gold medal: 400M Freestyle * 1 silver medal: 200M Individual Medley * 2 bronze medal: 100M Freestyle and 100M Butterfly * Set 2 World Records: 400M Freestyle and 200M Individual Medley * Set 5 American Records: 400M Freestyle, 200M Individual Medley, 100M Freestyle, 50M Freestyle, and 100M Breaststroke 2017: Mexico City, Mexico World Para Swimming Championships * 1 gold medal: 400M Freestyle * 2 silver medals: 100M Butterfly and 100M Freestyle * 1 bronze medal: 100M breastroke 2015: Glasgow, Scotland IPC Swimming World Championships * 2 gold medals: 200M Individual Medley and 400M Freestyle * 1 silver medal: 100M Butterfly * Set 2 world records in the S13 classification: 200M Individual Medley and 400M Freestyle 2014: Pasadena, California Pan Pac Para-Swimming Championships * 4 gold medals: 100M Butterfly, 100M Freestyle, 400M Freestyle, and 200M Individual Medley * 2 silver medals: 100M Breaststroke and 50M Freestyle * Set 2 world record in the S13 classification: 200M Individual Medley and 400M Freestyle 2013: Montreal, Canada IPC Swimming World Championships * 2 gold medals: 200M Individual Medley and 400M Freestyle * 2 silver medals: 100M Butterfly and 100M Freestyle 2011: Coimbra, Portugal 3rd World Deaf Swimming Championships * 4 gold medals: 200M Freestyle, 400M Freestyle, 800M Freestyle, and 4x200M Freestyle Relay * Set world record in the 4x200M Freestyle Relay * Set deaf world championship record in 800M Freestyle 2009 Deaflympics Taipei, Taiwan * Bronze medal in the 4x200M Freestyle Relay * Set American record in the 4x200M Freestyle Relay

Awards and honors

2017: *ESPN ESPY award winner: Best Female Athlete with a Disability *Women's Sports Foundation Sportswoman of the Year Nominee. 2016: * Trischa Zorn Award presented by USA Swimming * Team USA Finalist: Female Athlete of the Paralympic Games * NCAA DIII Swimming and Diving Championships: placed 6th overall in the 1650y freestyle; named to the All-America Team 2015: * ESPN ESPY award winner Best Female Athlete with a Disability * Team USA Female Paralympic Athlete of the Year Finalist 2011 * USADF Sportsperson of the Year presented by USA Deaf Sports Federation

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Meyers, Rebecca Living people 1994 births Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Paralympic swimmers for the United States Paralympic gold medalists for the United States World record holders in paralympic swimming American disabled sportspeople Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic bronze medalists for the United States American female freestyle swimmers Swimmers from Baltimore Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Paralympics S13-classified para swimmers Deaf swimmers American deaf people Medalists at the 2012 Summer Paralympics Medalists at the 2016 Summer Paralympics Paralympic medalists in swimming 21st-century American sportswomen American female medley swimmers Franklin & Marshall Diplomats women's swimmers

Biography

International

Awards and honors

See also

References

External links