Minnesota sitting volleyball team members on quest to help USA win 3rd consecutive gold at Paralympics
MINNEAPOLIS — The Paralympics begin in roughly two weeks, and Minnesota athletes once again are making a name for themselves on Team USA.
Lexi Shifflett made the national team when she was only 16. Since then, she's won two Paralympic gold medals with the USA sitting volleyball team — one in Rio de Janiero and one in Tokyo.
"I'm incredibly honored to do it again," she said.
The Waseca native was born with a congenital condition that required a knee amputation as a baby. She played club volleyball and high school volleyball in her small southern Minnesota town, like any other student-athlete would.
Those skills helped prepare her for sitting volleyball at the elite level.
"You're translating everything from your hips and up, down to the floor, and your hands are your feet," she explained.
She's not the only Minnesotan on the national team anymore.
MaKenzie Franklin, who grew up in Cannon falls, fought to make the team in January of last year after her life drastically changed. She was in a motorcycle accident in September of 2020, and needed to have her right knee amputated.
She was a volleyball player before her accident, and she was determined to keep playing the sport she loved.
"It's important to take it as it is, and face it head-on and choose to take the good out of it," she said.
She was selected as an alternate for the Paris Paralympic team. Now she has bigger goals on the horizon, all while still maintaining a full-time job as a veterinarian in Red Wing.
"I'm very determined for LA 2028 and to be there with my team and be on home soil," Franklin said.
The USA sitting volleyball team will play their first match on Aug. 30 against China.
