Haven Shepherd
| Personal information | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | March 9, 2003 Do Thi Thuy Phuong, Vietnam | |||||||||||
| Sport | ||||||||||||
| Sport | Swimming | |||||||||||
| Classifications | S8 | |||||||||||
Medal record
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Haven Shepherd (born March 9, 2003) is a Vietnamese-American Paralympic swimmer.[1][2] In 2018, she was included on the BBC 100 Women list.[3]
Early life[edit]
Shepherd was born Do Thi Thuy Phuong in Quang Nam province, Vietnam after her parents had an affair.[4][5][2] When she was 14 months old, her parents died in a bomb explosion, either as a double suicide or as a murder-suicide perpetuated by her father.[4][5] Although Shepherd was also intended to die in the explosion, she was instead blown 40 feet away and only sustained damage to her legs.[6][7] An older half-sister also survived the explosion.[4][5] Shepherd was brought by her grandmother to a hospital in Da Nang, where both her legs were amputated.[4][5] At age 20 months, she was adopted by an American couple from Carthage, Missouri, who had six older children.[5][6]
Shepherd learned to swim by age 3.[6] She was homeschooled.[1]
Athletic career[edit]
Shepherd began swimming competitively at age 10.[6] By the time she was 13, the US Paralympic team began tracking her as a potential candidate based on her times.[5]
At the 2020 Summer Paralympics, Shepherd came fifth in the Women's 200m Individual Medley SM8.[7][6]
Personal life[edit]
Shepherd uses prosthetic legs.[4]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "Haven Shepherd". www.teamusa.com. 2023-08-31. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ a b "Finding safe Haven: Suicide prompts swimmer's family journey". AP News. 2018-11-23. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ "BBC 100 Women 2018: Who is on the list?". BBC News. 2018-11-19. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ a b c d e Gregorian, Vahe (August 22, 2021). "From bomb survivor in Vietnam to life in Missouri, this paralympian is a living miracle". Kansas City Star. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "The girl who was never meant to survive". www.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ a b c d e Wang, Selina; Ramsay, George (2021-09-01). "Paralympian Haven Shepherd on surviving a family suicide and the 'gift' of being an amputee". CNN. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
- ^ a b "Haven Shepherd – the US swimmer who survived a family suicide attempt to become a Paralympian". olympics.com. Retrieved September 20, 2023.
- Living people
- 2003 births
- 21st-century American sportswomen
- American people of Vietnamese descent
- Explosion survivors
- Paralympic swimmers for the United States
- S8-classified para swimmers
- People from Carthage, Missouri
- Sportspeople from Missouri
- American female medley swimmers
- Swimmers at the 2023 Parapan American Games
- Medalists at the 2023 Parapan American Games
- Swimmers at the 2020 Summer Paralympics