Stephen Welch (born July 28, 1972) is an American wheelchair tennis player.

Stephen Welch
Welch (right) shaking hands with David Hall
Personal information
Nationality United States
Born (1972-07-28) July 28, 1972 (age 52)
Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Height5 ft 6 in (1.68 m)
Sport
Coached byDan James
Medal record
Men's wheelchair tennis
Representing  United States
Paralympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1996 Atlanta Men's doubles
Silver medal – second place 1996 Atlanta Men's singles
Silver medal – second place 2000 Sydney Men's singles
Bronze medal – third place 2000 Sydney Men's doubles
Parapan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Guadalajara Men's doubles
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Guadalajara Men's singles

Biography

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Welch was born in Fort Worth, Texas. Since he was four-years-old he was into a competition. By the age of eight he was diagnosed with Legg–Calvé–Perthes syndrome. He won 100 major titles since 1992, which includes three U.S. Open titles. He also won 5 National championships in the National Wheelchair Basketball Association and also three MVP awards.[1] He attended Paralympic games starting from 1996, but only won one silver medal for singles and one silver for doubles in the 1996 Summer Paralympics and won gold for singles and another bronze for doubles at the Sydney Paralympic Games. He also participated at the 2011 Parapan American Games where he won gold medal for doubles and a bronze one for singles. In 1996 and 2000 he played wheelchair basketball for the Olympics but didn't get any medals for it.[2] In 2001 Steve challenged radio jockey Howard Stern to a tennis match. They played at the Crosstown Tennis at Fifth Ave in New York City in a single set match where Steve defeated Howard Stern 6-0.

References

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  1. ^ "Stephen Welch". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
  2. ^ "Stephen Welch". Team USA. United States Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved July 13, 2013.
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