Cheri Becerra

Cheri Becerra competed in the 800 metres wheelchair race that was a demonstration event at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics Games. She lost the use of her legs due to a viral infection of her spine when she was 3-years-old. Becerra won eight medals at the Paralympics, a gold in the 100 and 400 metres at Sydney in 2000, four medals at Atlanta in 1996, and a silver medal in the 400 metres at Rio de Janeiro in 2016.

Cheri Becerra, by then Cheri Madsen, retired after the 2000 Paralympics but in 2007 her father and younger brother were killed in a car accident. She returned to competing in 2013 to honor them. She won bronze medals at the 2013 IPC Athletics World Championships and a silver medal at the 2017 IPC Worlds. Becerra was a Native American from the Omaha Tribe.