FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                 For more information contact:
July 15, 2008                                                            Catherine K. Brown
                                                                                 (215) 581-0717 (office)
                                                                                

INGLIS BOARD DIRECTOR LAURA SCHWANGER TO COMPETE IN
2008 PARALYMPICS IN BEIJING

Philadelphia, PA – Inglis Foundation Board Director Laura Schwanger heads to Beijing September 6-17, 2008, for her fourth trip to the Paralympic Games.  Laura holds 11 track and field medals from previous trips to Seoul (1988), Barcelona (1992) and Atlanta (1996). Beijing marks her first Paralympic rowing competition.

Rowing makes its first Paralympic appearance in Beijing in 2008, as well. The sport was selected for Paralympic inclusion in 2005, just three years after adaptive rowing made its debut on the world championship level in 2002.

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis when she was 24 and serving in the U.S. Army, Ms. Schwanger has always used sports as a way to get back into life.  She began rowing in 2007 through Pennsylvania Center for Adapted Sports in Philadelphia.  The organization supplies equipment so people with physical disabilities can experience different sports without having to invest in expensive equipment and adaptive devices.  Learning rowing helped Ms. Schwanger recover from the fatigue induced from a series of breast cancer treatments.

Moving quickly from being a newcomer to the sport, Ms. Schwanger participated in the International Rowing Federation World Cup in Munich, came in sixth in the world – and qualified to row in the Paralympic Games.

While she turns 50 in November, Ms. Schwanger is undaunted by competing with 19- to 21-year-olds at the Games.

"It gives me a reason to get out of bed in the morning…and it's fun!" she remarked. 

In addition to being a four-time Paralympic athlete and an Inglis Foundation Board Director, Laura Schwanger is chair of the Inglis Awards for Continuing Excellence Review Committee.  She is also a disability advocate and a former regional administrator of the United Spinal Association.

About Inglis Foundation
Inglis Foundation works with people with physical disabilities to create and provide practical solutions so they may pursue their life goals. Services include skilled nursing care, accessible housing, an adult day program, care management, durable medical equipment and community employment.  

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