Helen Freeman (basketball)

{{Infobox sportsperson

| headercolor = darkblue

| textcolor = white

| name = Helen Freeman

| image = Helen Freeman (wheelchair basketball player).jpg

| imagesize =

| caption =

| fullname =

| nicknames =

| nationality = {{GBR2}}

| club = Coyotes

| collegeteam = University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1989|11|23|df=y}}

| birth_place = Watford, Hertfordshire, England

| death_date =

| death_place =

| height =

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| country = Great Britain

| sport = Wheelchair basketball

| event = Women's team

| disability_class = 4.0

| medaltemplates=

{{MedalBronze|2007 Wetzlar, Netherlands|Women's wheelchair basketball}}

{{MedalBronze|2009 Stoke Mandeville|Women's wheelchair basketball}}

}}

Helen Freeman (born 23 November 1989) is a 4.0 point British wheelchair basketball player who represented Great Britain in five European championships, and at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, the 2012 Summer Paralympics in London and the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.

Biography

Helen Freeman was born in Watford on 23 November 1989. A 4.0 point player, she began playing wheelchair basketball with Aspire Force when she was 12. She played with the national team at the European Championships in Wetzlar, Germany, in 2007, winning bronze. At age 18, she was the youngest player on the side at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing. She went on to win bronze medals at the European Championships in 2009, 2011, 2013 and 2015.

She played with the British team that finished sixth at the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship in Birmingham. This was the team's best ever finish, but at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto, Canada, they improved to finish fifth. In addition to being the tournament's third highest scorer, she was second in assists per game and sixth in rebounds.{{cite web |url=http://www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba/index.cfm/gb-teams/gb-players/gb-women/helen-freeman/ |title=Helen Freeman |publisher=British Wheelchair Basketball |access-date=6 September 2016}}

Freeman attended the University of Illinois, where she played on the wheelchair basketball team. She was an Athletic All-American in each of the five years she was there, and an Academic All-American in three of those years. In May 2014 she graduated with a degree in kinesiology, and in August 2015 with a Master of Science degree in Business Administration. In May 2016, she was named as part of the team for the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro.{{cite web |url=https://www.paralympic.org/news/british-women-s-wheelchair-basketball-team-named-rio |title=British women's wheelchair basketball team named for Rio |date=13 May 2016 |publisher=International Paralympic Committee |access-date=6 September 2016}} The team produced Britain's best ever performance, making it all the way to the semi-finals, but lost to the semi-final to the United States, and then the bronze medal match to the Netherlands.{{cite news |url=http://www.worcesternews.co.uk/sport/14748897.GB_women___s_wheelchair_basketball_team_miss_out_on_bronze_medal_to_dominant_Dutch_in_Rio/ |title=University of Worcester-based GB women's wheelchair basketball team miss out on bronze medal to dominant Dutch in Rio Paralympics |newspaper=Worcester News |first=Geoff |last=Berkeley |date=17 September 2016 |access-date=18 September 2016 }}

Achievements

2007: Bronze at the European Championships (Wetzlar, Germany)
2009: Bronze at the European Championships (Stoke Mandeville, United Kingdom)
2011: Bronze at the European Championships (Nazareth, Israel)
2011: Bronze at the 2011 Women's U25 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship (St Catharines, Canada){{cite web |url=http://www.gbwba.org.uk/gbwba/?previewid=1D440C8E-0543-9146-594CEAE70A003078&siteid=gbwba |title=Helen Freeman |publisher=British Wheelchair Basketball |access-date=6 September 2016}}
2013: Bronze at the European Championships (Frankfurt, Germany)
2015: Bronze at the European Championships (Worcester, England){{cite web |url=http://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1029917/germany-earn-10th-womens-european-wheelchair-basketball-championship-title-as-hosts-britain-win-mens-gold |title=Germany earn 10th women's European Wheelchair Basketball Championship title as hosts Britain win men's gold |publisher=Inside the Games |access-date=9 September 2015 }}
2017: Bronze at the European Championships (Tenerife, Spain){{cite web |url=http://www.britishwheelchairbasketball.co.uk/gbwba/index.cfm/gb-teams/gb-players/gb-women/helen-freeman/ |title=Helen Freeman |publisher=British Wheelchair Basketball |access-date=1 September 2018 }}
2018: Silver at the 2018 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship (Hamburg, Germany){{cite web |url=http://www.fibalivestats.com/u/IWBFW/916102/bs.html |title=NED v GBR |publisher=FIBA LiveStats |access-date=1 September 2018 }}

References

External links

{{IPC profile|helen-freeman}}
{{BPA profile|helen-freeman}}
{{YouTube|otyHWiKdGB8|#GBProud Helen Freeman}}

{{Great Britain national women's wheelchair basketball team - 2016 Summer Paralympics}}

{{Great Britain national women's wheelchair basketball team - 2024 Summer Paralympics}}

Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2008 Summer Paralympics

Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2012 Summer Paralympics

Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2024 Summer Paralympics

Category:1989 births

Category:Living people

Category:Paralympic wheelchair basketball players for Great Britain

Category:Sportspeople from Watford

Category:University of Illinois College of Applied Health Sciences alumni

Category:Gies College of Business alumni

Category:Wheelchair basketball players at the 2020 Summer Paralympics