Lora Jessica Webster

Started: She began playing sitting volleyball in 2003. (volleyballmag.com, 04 Dec 2015) Reason: She was playing non-Para volleyball at a tournament in California, United States of America, when she was approached by someone looking for players for a sitting volleyball team. She was initially hesitant but eventually agreed to try the sport. (volleyballmag.com, 04 Dec 2015) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Instagram profile, 12 May 2023) Milestones: When she won gold at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo she became the first US women's sitting volleyball player to win five Paralympic medals in the sport. She was the only player who was part of all five US women's Paralympic teams from 2004 to 2020. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: She received the 2018 Theresa Award from the Theresa Alessandra Russo Foundation in recognition of speeches she gave to children's groups about living with an impairment. (theresafoundation.org, 18 Apr 2018) She was named Best Blocker at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (teamusa.org, 2016) She was a member of the US national sitting volleyball team that was named the 2016 Paralympic Team of the Year by the United States Olympic Committee [USOC]. (teamusa.org, 2016) In 2015 she received the All-Time Great Female Sitting Player Award from USA Volleyball. She was the inaugural recipient of the award. (teamusa.org, 19 May 2015) She was named Female Sitting Team Player of the Year in 2004 and 2007 by USA Volleyball. (teamusa.org, 2016) She was named Most Valuable Player [MVP] and Best Spiker at the 2003 Parapan American Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina. (USA Volleyball, 17 Aug 2012) Additional Info: PREGNANT PARALYMPIAN She is a mother of four and was pregnant while competing at the 2012 and 2020 Paralympic Games. She had hoped to become pregnant with her fourth child following the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, but doctors had told her it would not be possible. "Finding out I was pregnant this time around [ahead of the 2020 Paralympic Games] was a huge surprise. It was something we had hoped would happen [right after the 2016 Rio Games] but according to the doctors my body had stopped working so we started to pursue adoption instead. To be honest joy was not the first emotion we had, shock definitely won out. It felt very surreal for the first month or so, but once we finally told our three kids, it helped to make it feel a bit more real. As far as the Tokyo Games are concerned, this pregnancy didn't change my mindset going into the competition. I was actually 20 weeks pregnant with my second [child] during the gold medal match in the London 2012 Games so I knew my body could handle it this time around." (thelocalmomsnetwork.com, 30 Sep 2021) FURTHER EDUCATION She holds a degree in sociology from Stony Brook University in the United States of America. (patch.com, 14 Oct 2019)

Sporting Relatives: Her uncle Bob Webster has served as an equipment manager for the US men's and women's national ice hockey teams. Her husband Paul Bargellini played volleyball for the University of Delaware in Newark, DE, United States of America, while her sister Lisa Yost played volleyball for the University of Tampa in Florida, United States of America. (teamusa.org, 2016)