UNI Athlete Dominates at 2024 Paralympics with Two Medals…So Far

The 2024 Paralympics kicked off in Paris on August 28th, 2024.

Currently, China is leading the medal count with over a hundred medals. The United States is sitting comfortably at third place right now.

One University of Northern Iowa athlete contributed to America's high win count. Her name is Olivia Chambers and she already is making the Hawkeye State proud on the international stage.

Who Is Olivia Chambers?

The 21-year-old is a Little Rock, Arkansas native and a rising senior at UNI.

Chambers is legally blind due to multiple mitochondrial gene deletion syndrome. She was sixteen when she started to lose her eyesight, according to reports. Also, she has a condition called nystagmus, this causes her eyes to make repetitive, uncontrolled movements.

The Olympian's mother signed her up for swimming lessons when she was three years old, and just a year later she was swimming competitively.

She was named Arkansas Outstanding Distance Swimmer of the Year when she was in high school and went on to swim for the University of Northern Iowa.

Currently, Olivia is majoring in biology at UNI.

In 2022, Chambers actually set a S13-class Para American record in the 400 IM. She had a time of 5:21.68 which was only TWO seconds shorter than the previous record which was set by Paralympic champion Rebecca Meyers in 2012.

Now, she's making waves in the Paralympic games this year. She won a gold medal in the women's 400 freestyle on Saturday, August 31st.

Just a few days later, the UNI athlete placed second in the women's 200m IM. Chambers touched the wall with a time of 2:25.90, according to reports.

Chambers has two more events that she will be competing in before the Paralympics wraps up this weekend.

On Wednesday, September 4th she will be competing in the Mixed 4x100m Freestyle Relay, and on Thursday, September 5th Chambers will wrap up her time in Paris swimming in the SB13 100m Breaststroke.

You can watch all of these events on the Peacock app.

We will keep you updated on her medal count as the games continue.

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