Louise Sugden – Paralympic Medallist and Motivational Speaker

Having first tried Wheelchair Basketball at the age of 13, Louise found herself hooked on the fast-paced game and joined a London Wheelchair Basketball team.

After many years playing in the National League, Louise was invited to a Great Britain training session and although she was unsuccessful in getting into the squad for the 2002 World Championships, she came back with more determination and got her first international experience at the Europeans in 2003 where the team qualified for Athens Paralympics 2004. Her commitment and dedication to the Great Britain team saw her attend every major competition between 2005 – 2014.

Major basketball achievements include 5 bronze medals from 6 European Championships, Gold at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup and competing at Beijing and London Paralympic games.

Louise officially retired from Wheelchair Basketball in 2017 but has discovered a new passion in Para-Powerlifting. Within a year of starting the sport, she became Commonwealth Silver Medallist and European Champion. At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic games she won the Bronze and has set her sights on competing at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games as well as the Paris 2024 Paralympics.

In addition to her sporting achievements, Louise is a CGMA Qualified Accountant. She is an experienced motivational speaker with an incredible story to tell which can be adapted to audiences of any age within public or private organisations from schools to workplaces.

Using the navigation bar at the top of this page you can find out more about Louise and other areas of interest, including what to do if you want Louise to pay your organisation a visit.