At the upcoming PARIS Paralympics in 2024, wheelchair basketball athlete Talen Jourdan, 22, will compete for the USA national team. This will be his first Paralympic Games representing the United States of America. Jourdan is a world-class athlete who helped the United States qualify for the Paralympic Games by defeating Chile in the PARAPAN Games.
Talen Jourdan to compete at Paralympic Games for Team USA Men’s National Team
Talen Jourdan will play wheelchair basketball for the United States national team at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris, France. He is one of twelve players chosen for the US team. The United States won the gold medal at the 2016 and 2020 Paralympic Games.
Initially, thirty-two players were selected by the US team in January for tryouts. From that group, the national team reduced the number to sixteen players. Last week, the final twelve players were selected, along with four additional players as alternates. The US team won the gold medal at the 2023 Parapan American Games in Chile, defeating Colombia by a score of 81-45. This victory helped the US team qualify for the 2024 Paralympic Games.
“The biggest thing for us is getting that gold medal,” “Lots of pressure on us going in, but I think we can do it.”
Jourdan said.
Talen Jourdan Age, Family, Parents, Siblings
Talen Jourdan was born in the year 2002 in Deerfield, Wisconsin. He grew up in the small towns of Fall River and Deerfield, Wisconsin, where competitive sports were very important. From a young age, he tried to keep up with his older brother Tristen, who is now 23 years old.
Talen is the son of Jennifer Jourdan and Todd Jourdan. He has an elder brother named Tristen Jourdan and a younger brother named Trey Jourdan. Their mother Jennifer said that since the two brothers were about the same size, Talen always wanted to compete with his older brother Tristen.
“Talen was always competitive with his older brother.”
She said,
Just like in his athletic career before his injury, Jourdan’s parents remain his biggest supporters. He has also benefited from a close group of friends who have supported him throughout his journey.
Jourdan grew up surrounded by sports: Both of his parents were athletes, and Jourdan gives credit to his father for coaching him and setting up basketball hoops for him as he was growing up.
Even in middle school, Jourdan had his sights set on playing sports in college. His hobbies include playing multiple sports to this day, including wake-surfing (His father believes he is the first-ever adaptive wake-surfing athlete).
Jourdan faced a tragic accident which led to the Paralyzation
Jourdan was sitting in a tree stand about thirty-five feet high to get a better view of deer. Suddenly, he felt very dizzy and the next thing he knew, he woke up on the ground.
At 13 years old, he became paralyzed after falling out of a tree stand. He suffered a broken T6/T7 vertebrae in his spine.
When Jourdan had this life-changing injury, he feared that all his dreams and goals would not come true.
After falling nearly three stories, Jourdan’s brother eventually found him in a very cold state. He was driven on an all-terrain vehicle to flat ground and then airlifted to the American Children’s Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin.
As Jourdan recovered, his parents continued to strongly support his aspirations and goals.
Jourdan then went on to play wheelchair basketball at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, helping the Warhawks team win the 2024 national championship last month. Jourdan was named to the First Team All-America this season.
Talen Jourdan is in a Happy Relationship
Jourdan and Kate Kuhl are presently dating.
Jourdan starts his Career after recovering
While Jourdan was recovering from his injury, Jeremy “Opie” Lade and Tracy Chynoweth, two coaches of the UW-Whitewater men’s wheelchair basketball team, visited him to talk about the sport.
Opie Lade first introduced Jourdan to wheelchair basketball. Lade was a three-time Paralympian who retired in 2020 as the head coach of the Wisconsin-Whitewater Warhawks team – a legendary career where he led the team to six national championships.
Wheelchair basketball quickly became Jourdan’s passion, even though it took some time for him to get used to it and learn the new set of skills required.
Also See: Meet US Wheelchair Basketball Player Jeromie Meyer
Jourdan also participated in track as a long-distance runner, was a regular wakesurfer, and immersed himself in winter sports.
By the time Jourdan was in middle school, he was already participating in about half a dozen different sports.
Jourdan is a uniquely athletic player. Listed as a “class one” player, he is an unusual shooting threat.
Jourdan’s Professional Career and love for his passion
He also won gold at the 2022 IWBF U23 American’s Zonal Qualifier tournament.
In addition to playing for his college team at Whitewater, Jourdan is also a member of the USA U23 national team. They are scheduled to go to Thailand this autumn for the U23 World Championship event.
Jourdan enjoys being part of the U23 team partly because he gets the chance to be teammates with players who are normally his competitors in college games.
Jourdan has gained international experience as well. He helped the American team win gold medals at the 2023 Parapan American Games and the 2022 World Championships.
Jourdan recently won a gold medal with the men’s national team against Colombia.
In preparation for the upcoming Paralympics, Jourdan will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a four-day training camp at the Paralympic facility. As the games get closer, Jourdan and the rest of the team will fly to France for a month.
This will be Jourdan’s first time participating in the Paralympics, making his dream a reality.
