Kari Miller
After serving with the U.S. Army for stints in Bosnia and Korea, and with a promotion to officer awaiting her, Kari Miller went home to Washington, D.C. in December 1999 to spend the holidays with her friends and family. On the 19th of that month, Miller was hit by a drunk driver, resulting not only in the loss of both of her legs, but the life of her friend that was in the car with her.
In 2004, Miller began attending classes at Parkland College and playing on the University of Illinois wheelchair basketball team. It was there that she was introduced to sitting volleyball and, although she knew nothing about the sport previously, she was quickly hooked on the game.
Miller was named to the U.S. Paralympics Women's Sitting Volleyball National Team in 2006, just prior to the World Championships in Roermond, The Netherlands, where the U.S. finished fifth. She said the experience of competing at that event made her want to work harder, so she transferred to the University of Central Oklahoma (UCO) that August to devote more time to volleyball and continue her education in biology and veterinary studies.
After transferring to UCO, Miller, a track athlete in high school and the Army, received a pair of running legs from Hanger Prosthetics. She ran in her first track meet at the Endeavor Games in June 2007 and would like to train in the 400m at some point in the near future.
Although it is unclear what the future holds, Miller can forever cherish the hard-earned silver medal that she won with the U.S. Paralympic Women's Sitting Volleyball Team at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.
Major Achievements:
- 2008: Silver medal, U.S. Women's Sitting Volleyball Team - Paralympic Games, Beijing, China
- 2008: Bronze medal, World Organization Volleyball for Disabled Intercontinental Cup - Ismailia, Egypt
- 2007: Silver medal, Sitting Volleyball Invitational - Shanghai, China
- 2006: Fifth place, Sitting Volleyball World Championships - Roermond, The Netherlands
