Team USA Athletes Win Big at 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima

Sept. 17, 2019

Media Contact: Sarah Ward, Communications and Marketing Coordinator, UCO University Communications, 405-974-2106, sward24@uco.edu

Team USA Athletes Win Big at 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima

The University of Central Oklahoma was well represented at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru in August. More than 1,890 athletes from the 33-member nations competed in 17 sports and 18 disciplines, of which five sports are qualifiers for the Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020. Approximately 257 athletes from the U.S. competed, including four UCO students.

American Para taekwondo athlete Evan Medell, a sophomore management major from Grand Haven, Michigan, brought home the gold after defeating Mexico 22-16 in the men’s k44 +75 kg category. Medell will now advance to the Paralympics in Tokyo 2020.

Three-time gold medalist discus thrower Jeremy Campbell, a junior strategic communications major for Perryton, Texas, took home silver in the men’s discus F64 class. Campbell threw 62.92 and will prepare for the world championships in November.

The U.S. women’s sitting volleyball team won gold as they defeated Brazil in three sets and remained undefeated with a perfect 5-0 record in Lima and won 15 of their 16 sets. The U.S. had already qualified for Tokyo 2020 by finishing second at the 2018 World ParaVolley World Championships. UCO student Jillian Williams, a senior marketing major from Odem, Texas, is team USA’s opposite.

The U.S. men’s sitting team earned silver losing to Brazil during the tournament’s gold-medal match. The U.S., ranked seventh in the world, has now claimed four consecutive silver medals at the Parapan American Games, falling to Brazil in each gold medal match. Team USA will have one final attempt at qualifying for the Paralympics early next year at the 2020 Paralympic Games Final Qualifier. UCO student Zach Upp, a freshman computer science major from Barlett, Illinois, was honored with the Best Server award.

“We are incredibly proud of how hard these teams and individuals have worked to have such success at the Parapan American Games,” said Leigha Pemberton, assistant director of marketing and partnerships for the UCO Wellness Center.

“UCO has been a Paralympic Training Site since 2005 and we have continued to watch our athletes be successful in competition and in the classroom. We look forward to watching these athletes on their journey to the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games next summer.”

Central is the host training site for Men’s and Women’s Sitting Volleyball and USA Taekwondo. Currently, Central hosts athletes in the Paralympic sports of sitting volleyball, field and taekwondo.

For more information about the 2019 Parapan American Games, visit  https://www.paralympic.org/lima-2019.

For more information on Central’s Olympic and Paralympic programs, visit www.ucotrainingsite.com.

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Editor's Note: Download art associated with this release at  https://media.uco.edu/press/uploads/2019/09/evan-medell.jpg

Cutline: The University of Central Oklahoma was well represented at the 2019 Parapan American Games in Lima, Peru in August. Pictured here is American Para taekwondo athlete Evan Medell, a sophomore management major from Grand Haven, Michigan. He brought home the gold after defeating Mexico 22-16 in the men’s k44 +75 kg category. Photo courtesy of Joe Kusumoto.