The College of Education is proud of EPOL alumna Anjali Forber-Pratt and student Brian Siemann (English major/education minor) for their success in qualifying for the 2012 Paralympic Games, August 29 – September 9 in London.

Forber-Pratt, who recently earned her Ph.D. in Human Resource Education, will race in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. Siemann, an LAS undergraduate student minoring in secondary education, has qualified to race in the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, and the 4x400m. 

Seeing competitive wheelchair racers at the Boston Marathon at age 5 opened Forber-Pratt's eyes to a whole new world and allowed her to dream of Paralympic glory, according to her Team USA profile.

"By the time she was nine, she was competing at the national level in track and field, Forber-Pratt's Team USA profile states. "At age 14, she hired her own lawyer to take on her school district fighting for a public education and to stand up to injustices and discrimination on the basis of her disability. This, coupled with her athletic successes, provides the platform for her to help transform perceptions of what it means to be an individual with a disability and encourage others to accept their own differences."

Making the U.S. National Team has meant the world to Siemann, according to his Team USA profile page. “It is a testament to the work I have put into my training since I began. It is an honor, and I am proud to represent the United States," he said. Siemann chose track and field because it requires a great deal of individual work and effort.

As of July 9, Siemann and Forber-Pratt have been assigned the following preliminary race times. As they qualify, they will race in the final for each respective event. The exact times may vary and are in UK time (Western European Time Zone).

Anjali Forber-Pratt's race times
September 1, 8:42 p.m., 100m preliminary race; 100m final race is the following day, September 2, at  9:12 p.m.
September 6, 11:59 a.m., 200m preliminary; 200m final race is at 9:34 p.m.
September 7, 11:12 a.m., 400m preliminary; 400m is the following day, September 8, at 9:27 p.m.

Brian Siemann's race times
September 2, 11:08 a.m.: 400m preliminary race; 400m final race is at 8:12 p.m.
September 3, 10:12 a.m.: 100 m preliminary race; 100m final race is at 8:02 p.m.
September 4, 1:02 p.m.: 800m preliminary; 800m final race is following day, September 5, 8:24 p.m.
September 7, 11:24 a.m.: 200m preliminary; 200m final race is at 8:24 p.m.
September 8, 12:26 p.m.: 4x400 preliminary; 4x400 final race is at 9:45 p.m.