Scout Bassett (born Zhu Fuzhi; August 18, 1988) is an American Paralympic track and field athlete. Bassett spent her first seven years of life in a government-run orphanage in

Nanjing Nanjing or Nanking is the capital of Jiangsu, a province in East China. The city, which is located in the southwestern corner of the province, has 11 districts, an administrative area of , and a population of 9,423,400. Situated in the Yang ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

after she was found abandoned on the side of a street following the tragic loss of her right leg in a chemical fire as a newborn baby. While growing up, she made a makeshift

prosthetic In medicine, a prosthesis (: prostheses; from ), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through physical trauma, disease, or a condition present at birth (Congenital, congenital disord ...

leg using leather belts and masking tape and began to walk, aged six, but never went outside of the orphanage in which she was being raised. Bassett was adopted in 1995 by an American couple from

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

Early life

After being adopted just shy of her eighth birthday, Bassett grew up in

Harbor Springs, Michigan Harbor Springs is a city and resort community in Emmet County, Michigan, United States. The population was 1,274 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Harbor Springs is in a sheltered bay on the north shore of the Little Traverse Bay on ...

. On growing up in Harbor Springs, Bassett recalls "They were so unaccepting of me," she says. "The girls were so noninclusive and mean, and being the only Asian in an all-white school was not fun." Scout buried herself in books, plowing through as many political biographies as her brain could digest, and sports, which felt like the easiest and most direct route to assimilation. After completing high school, Bassett attended

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...

on a full

scholarship A scholarship is a form of Student financial aid, financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, Multiculturalism, diversity and inclusion, athleti ...

. She graduated in 2011 with degrees in

Sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

and

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

Paralympic career

Bassett began playing

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

, aged ten before starting her athletic career by participating in the Challenged Athletes Foundation, aged 14, who granted her a prosthetic running leg, then attended the Chula Vista Elite Athlete Training Center in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

at the age of 18. She first started to compete in

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of Swimming (sport), swimming, Cycle sport, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the ...

s and won three silver medals and one bronze medal in the ITU Paratriathlon World Championships, in the 2011 ITU Paratriathlon World Championships, she went to China for the first time since she was adopted. Bassett transitioned to track and field before the paratriathlon event was introduced in 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 did an entire first full season of athletic training attempting to qualify for the

2012 Summer Paralympics The 2012 Summer Paralympics, branded as the London 2012 Paralympic Games, were an international Multi-sport event, multi-sport parasports event held from 29 August to 9 September 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. They were the 14th Sum ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, when she got the opportunity to try and compete in the US Paralympic team. Bassett came last in the 100m at the US Championships, which was a qualifier for the Paralympic Games, as she failed to make the team and almost decided to quit track and field. In 2015, Bassett still wanted to be a Paralympian and moved to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

so that she could do full-time training and she started breaking national records in the T42 classification. She then went on to qualify and compete in the 2016 Summer Paralympic but ended up being fifth in the 100m and tenth in the long jump. In 2017, Bassett successfully attended the

2017 World Para Athletics Championships The 2017 World Para Athletics Championships were a Paralympic athletics, Paralympic track and field meet organized by World Para Athletics, a subcommittee of the International Paralympic Committee. It was held at London Stadium in London from 14 ...

in London,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, where she won her first international medals in the 100m and long jump. She is currently the world record holder in the 400m T42 and American holder in 100m and 200m. In 2019, Bassett took home the gold medal in the Women's Long Jump T42-44/T61-63 at the Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru. Bassett was one of 17 athletes featured in eleventh edition of ''ESPN The Magazine'''s Body Issue

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bassett, Scout 1988 births Living people American sportspeople of Chinese descent Sportspeople from Nanjing Chinese adoptees American adoptees Chinese emigrants to the United States American female triathletes Track and field athletes from Michigan American female long jumpers Paralympic track and field athletes for the United States Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Paralympics People from Harbor Springs, Michigan Sportspeople from Emmet County, Michigan Medalists at the World Para Athletics Championships Medalists at the 2019 Parapan American Games University of California, Los Angeles alumni 21st-century American sportswomen Parapan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Parapan American Games gold medalists for the United States