Meet the Paralympians with Minnesota ties competing in Tokyo

CHUCK AOKI

Minnesota connection: Minneapolis

Sport: Wheelchair rugby

Paralympic experience: 2012, 2016

One of the best players in the world, Aoki hopes to add a Paralympic gold medal to his silver from 2016 and bronze from 2012. He first made the U.S. team in 2009 and has become a leading figure in his sport, as a captain, top scorer and advocate for adaptive sports. Aoki also has won multiple world championships medals, including gold in 2010. He and fellow Minnesotan Melissa Stockwell were chosen to be the flag bearers for the U.S. at the Opening Ceremony.

Results: Won silver medal. Was the team's leading scorer, averaging 21.8 tries in five matches. Had 27 tries in 49-42 semifinal win over Australia and 18 tries in a 54-49 loss to Great Britain in the gold medal match.

JOSIE ASLAKSON

Minnesota connection: Jordan

Sport: Wheelchair basketball

Paralympic experience: First

A member of the U.S. national team since 2017, Aslakson played for the women's wheelchair teams at the University of Texas at Arlington and the University of Arizona. Since taking up the sport at age 13, she has won championships at several levels, including gold at the 2019 under-25 world championships. Last spring, Aslakson was named head coach of Arizona's women's wheelchair basketball program.

Results: Played in five games, scoring 4 points, in her first Paralympics. Played 8:41 in a 64-51 win over Germany in the bronze medal game.

ABBY BAULEKE

Minnesota connection: Savage

Sport: Wheelchair basketball

Paralympic experience: First

One of several newcomers on the U.S. national team, Bauleke, 20, is among three players from the University of Alabama women's wheelchair team who will compete in Tokyo. She began playing basketball in sixth grade and also was captain of the swim team at Burnsville High School. In 2019, Bauleke was the youngest member of the U.S. team that won the world under-25 championship.

Results: Among nine first-time Paralympics on the bronze medal-winning U.S. women's team, Bauleke played sparingly, appearing in two games and scoring 2 points.

JOSH CINNAMO

Minnesota connection: Lakeville

Sport: Track and field, shot put

Paralympic experience: First

Cinnamo enters the Paralympics as the reigning world champion and world record holder in shot put in the F46 classification. A football player at Luther College, he didn't get involved with Paralympic sport until 2014, when he attended a talent evaluation camp. He has lowered his world record three times since 2017 and set his current best of 55 feet, 1 ½ inches at the 2019 world championships.

Results: Won the bronze medal, throwing a season-best 15.90 meters.

JOE DELAGRAVE

Minnesota connection: Winona State, University of Northwestern-St. Paul

Sport: Wheelchair rugby

Paralympic experience: 2012

Delagrave, of Prairie du Chien, Wis., played football at Winona State before a boating accident left him paralyzed from the chest down. He soon discovered wheelchair rugby and has been a member of the U.S. national team for 13 years. A Northwestern-St. Paul graduate, Delagrave helped the U.S. to bronze at the 2018 world championships and gold at the 2019 Parapan American Games.

Results: Was a co-captain of the silver medal-winning squad and averaged 7.2 tries in five matches, third-best on the team.

BEN GOODRICH

Minnesota connection: St. Paul

Sport: Judo

Paralympic experience: 2016

A multi-sport prep athlete at Concordia Academy, Goodrich was introduced to judo in a physical education class at the University of Minnesota. That launched a career that includes three appearances at the world championships and medals at the Pan American Championships and Parapan American Games. Goodrich placed ninth at the 2016 Paralympics and will compete in the 100-kilogram class in Tokyo.

Results: Won the silver medal, improving on his finish in Rio.

ROSE HOLLERMANN

Minnesota connection: Elysian

Sport: Wheelchair basketball

Paralympic experience: 2012, 2016

Though Hollermann is a gifted multisport athlete, she found her calling on the basketball court. The youngest member of the U.S. team at the 2012 Paralympics, she was one of the leading scorers in 2016 as the Americans won Paralympic gold. Hollermann currently plays in a professional men's wheelchair league in Spain, after winning two national college championships at the University of Texas at Arlington.

Results: Had 12 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists as the U.S. women won the bronze medal with a 64-51 win over Germany. Averaged 12.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 6.7 assists, putting her in the top eight for the tournaments in each category.

AARON PIKE

Minnesota connection: Park Rapids

Sport: Track and field, distance racing

Paralympic experience: summer, 2012, 2016; winter, 2014, 2018

Pike is the rare elite athlete who competes in multiple sports, doing cross-country skiing and biathlon in the winter and distance racing in the summer. He competed in the marathon at the 2012 and 2016 Paralympics, then earned top-10 finishes in the 1,500 meters and 5,000 meters at the 2019 world championships. At last June's Olympic trials in Minneapolis, Pike finished second in the 800, 1,500 and 5,000 in the men's T54 classification.

Results: Competed in four events, finishing sixth in the T54 men's marathon, his best Paralympic result. He was 10th in the marathon in Rio in 2016 and 16th in London in 2012. He participated in track events for the first time, but did not qualify for the final in 800, 1,500 or 5,000 meters

SUMMER SCHMIT

Minnesota connection: Stillwater

Sport: Swimming

Paralympic experience: First

A competitive swimmer since age 11, Schmit, who turned 18 this month, has won medals at international meets since 2018. She won the women's 200-meter individual medley at the 2019 World Para Swimming World Series and took silver in the 400 freestyle and 100 butterfly. At the 2019 Parapan American Games, she earned silver in the 200 IM and bronze in the 100 breaststroke.

Results: Competed in five events, finishing fifth in the women's S9 200-meter individual medley, sixth in the S9 100-meter butterfly and seventh in the S9 400-meter freestyle. Did not advance to the final in the 100 breaststroke and 100 freestyle.

IAN SEIDENFELD

Minnesota connection: Lakeville

Sport: Table tennis

Paralympic experience: First

Seidenfeld dreamed for years of reaching the Paralympics, but even he was a little surprised at how swiftly it happened. During his sophomore year at Lakeville North High School, he won two international tournaments, putting him on course to make the Tokyo Games at age 20. The son of Paralympic gold medalist Mitchell Seidenfeld, Ian is coached by his dad and is a student at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management.

Results: Won the gold medal in Class 6 men's singles, beating the defending champion and world No. 1 Peter Rosenmeier of Denmark, 3-0, in the final. The U.S. last won a gold medal in Para table tennis in 1996. Lost his opening match in the team competition with Thal Leibovitz 2-1 to Nigeria.

LEXI SHIFFLETT

Minnesota connection: Waseca

Sport: Sitting volleyball

Paralympic experience: 2016

A softball and volleyball player at Waseca High School, Shifflett has been a mainstay on the U.S. sitting volleyball team for several years. The 5-4 setter helped the team to a gold medal at the 2016 Paralympics and silver medals at the 2014 and 2018 world championships. The U.S. enters the Tokyo Games as the No. 1 team in the world.

Results: Saw limited action during the Tokyo Games as the U.S. women repeated as the Paralympic champions. Did not play in the gold medal match, where the top-ranked U.S. women defeated China, 3-1.

NATALIE SIMS

Minnesota connection: Edina

Sport: Swimming

Paralympic experience: 2016

Sims joined the Minneapolis Otters swim club when she was 13 years old. Within three years, she was named to the U.S. Paralympic swimming emerging team, putting her on the path to two Paralympics. Sims earned two gold and three bronze medals at the 2017 world championships, and three medals — including gold in the 100 freestyle — at the 2019 Parapan American Games.

Results: Competed in four events, finished eighth in the women's S9 400-meter freestyle final and seventh in the women's S9 100 freestyle final. Did not advance to the final in the 200 individual medley and her 4x100 freestyle relay team was disqualified.

MELISSA STOCKWELL

Minnesota connection: Eden Prairie

Sport: Paratriathlon

Paralympic experience: 2008, 2016

Stockwell was deployed with the U.S. Army in Iraq when she lost a leg to a roadside bomb in 2004. Four years later, she became the first Iraq War veteran to qualify for the Paralympics, competing in swimming. Since moving on to paratriathlon, the Eden Prairie High School graduate has won three world championships in the sport, along with a Paralympic bronze medal in 2016. She and fellow Minnesotan Chuck Aoki were chosen to be the flag bearers for the U.S. at the Opening Ceremony.

Results: Finished fifth in the women's PTS2 classification in 1:21:25. Fellow American Allysa Seely won in 1:14:03.

JOSH TUREK

Minnesota connection: Southwest Minnesota State

Sport: Wheelchair basketball

Paralympic experience: 2004, 2012, 2016

The Tokyo Paralympics will end a long basketball career for Turek, 42, who plans to retire following the Games. A four-time all-America for Southwest Minnesota State's wheelchair basketball team, he is the program's all-time leading scorer (4,024 points) and played professionally in Europe for 17 seasons. Turek made his first U.S. national team in 2004 and won Paralympic gold in 2016 and bronze in 2012.

Results: Won another gold medal as the U.S. men beat Japan 64-60. Averaged 10.7 minutes and 6.5 points in eight games.

MALLORY WEGGEMANN

Minnesota connection: Eagan

Sport: Swimming

Paralympic experience: 2012, 2016

A Paralympic gold medalist, 15-time world champion and multiple world record holder, Weggemann said she feels stronger than ever as she enters her third Paralympics. She will swim in six individual events after winning four races and finishing second in two others at the Paralympic trials in Minneapolis in June. At the 2019 world championships, Weggemann won gold in the 50 freestyle and 50 butterfly and silver in the 200 individual medley.

Results: Won three medals, winning the gold medal in the 200-meter IM and the 100 backstroke and a silver medal in the 50-meter butterfly. She set Paralympic records in the 200 IM (2:54.25) and the 100 backstroke (1:21.27). Finished fifth in the 100 freestyle and seventh in the 50 freestyle. Did not advance to the final in the 100-breaststroke.