Cheryl Angelelli

Paralympic medal winner, World Record holder, and Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame inductee, are just a few of Cheryl Angelelli's accomplishments after a tragic accident in a swimming pool in 1983 left her a quadriplegic.  Cheryl returned to the pool and made the 2000 Paralympic Swim Team. Since then, she has returned twice, earning a pair of bronze medals at the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, and a pair of silver medals at the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing. She is one of Michigan's most decorated Paralympians and currently holds 15 American Records and 3 World Records.  After retiring from Paralympic swimming in 2014, she took up another Paralympic sport; competitive wheelchair ballroom dancing. She and her dance partner, Tamerlan Gadirov, are one of the top ranked Para Dance Sport couples in the U.S. She and Tamerlan have won multiple awards in the U.S. including first place at Fred Astaire World Championships in 2016 and 2019, and first place at the prestigious Ohio Star Ball in 2017. Angelelli is the co-founder of Dance Mobility, a free wheelchair ballroom and amputee dance program offered at select Fred Astaire Dance Studios across the country.  Cheryl is preparing for the first organized U.S. training for Para Dance instruction - with the aim of building a national pipeline as advocates hope to get it included in the 2028 Paralympics in Los Angeles. 

• Ranked #1 in the world from 2006-2008 in the 100 meter and 200 meter freestyle
• Member of 2000, 2004, 2008 Paralympic Swim Team
• Member of U.S. National Disabled Swim Team 1998-2011
• 4-Time Paralympic Medalist (2 Silver, 2 Bronze)
• 7-Time Gold Medalist at IPC World Championships
• Michigan Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame inductee 2000
• Michigan Athletes with Disabilities Hall of Fame Disabled Female Athlete of the Year 2000
• 2000 Female Amateur Athlete of the Year for the State of Michigan, presented by Governor's Council on Physical Fitness, Health and Sports