Maya Lindholm

Started: She began playing wheelchair basketball at age 15. (Athlete, 22 Aug 2021) Reason: "During my rehabilitation I was told that I had to do something active, and they recommended that I do sports. I initially resisted it, as I had not done much sports before, but then I went to a wheelchair basketball group and really enjoyed it. So in a way, I was forced into it by chance." (buk-hamburg.de, 12 Apr 2012) Milestones: She was part of the German squad that won Germany's first Paralympic gold medal in women's wheelchair basketball at the 2012 Games in London. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) She is one of three players [along with Mareike Miller and Anne Patzwald] named in Germany's team for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris that also took part in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, where Germany won silver. She and Miller are the only two players on Germany's squad in Paris who were also part of the 2012 Paralympic gold medal winning team. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: She was part of the women's wheelchair basketball team that was named 2021 Para Team of the Year by the German Disabled Sports Association [DBS]. (dbs-npc.de, 27 Nov 2021) In 2012 and 2016 she was presented with the Silberne Lorbeerblatt [Silver Laurel Leaf] in recognition of her achievements at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympic Games. (bundespraesident.de, 01 Nov 2016, 07 Nov 2012) Additional Info: OCCUPATION She works as an occupational therapist in Hamburg, Germany. "I think I can offer my patients a lot because of my personal experiences. It would be different if a person who is not in a wheelchair stands in front of them and says, 'Don't act like that'. I am a good example to them that if you really want to achieve something, you can." (Instagram profile, 18 Apr 2024; teamdeutschland-paralympics.de, 23 Aug 2023; Facebook profile, 06 Jul 2019; m.tagesspiegel.de, 09 Aug 2016)