Born: October 11th, 1965
Hometown: Vancouver, BC
Sport: Wheelchair Basketball, Para-swimming
An elite wheelchair basketball player and NCCP Level 3 coach Marni has had an illustrious career as a trailblazer for Paralympic sport both on and off the court.
A Vancouver native, after sustaining a spinal injury after skiing accident at age eighteen, she met Rick Hansen, who introduced her to wheelchair sports. By 1992, she had made the national team, and in 1992, won her first medal in the sport at the 1992 Barcelona Paralympic Games.
Reflecting on the experience, Marni said: “Winning my first Paralympic gold medal in Barcelona in 1992 was a moment for me that cannot be put into words. The weight of the medal around my neck, sitting on the podium with my amazing teammates and seeing the Canadian flag being raised as our national anthem played, I get tears in my eyes just thinking about it.”
She went on to capture gold at the 1996 and 2000 Paralympic games, and Bronze at the 2004 Games. She also acquired three consecutive World Championship titles with Team Canada in 1994, 1998, and 2002, respectively. She retired from the national team in 2004. Since then, her focus has been coaching. She served as an assistant coach with the Canadian senior women’s national team, and both the junior men and women’s national teams. For her efforts, she was named “Coach of the Year” by Wheelchair Basketball Canada in 2009. The year prior, she was inducted into their Hall of Fame. She also received the Rick Hansen Award from the Canadian Wheelchair Sports Association in 2011.
Marni currently resides in Vancouver, where she continues to advocate and mentor Paralympians.