Allison Ahlfeldt

Sport: Sit Volleyball
Residence: Newport Beach, California

Allison is a winner on the court and is determined to be treated as an equal off the court as well.

Beginning life in the volleyball capital of the U.S. -- Manhattan Beach, CA -- Allison was born with a non-developing thigh bone in her right leg. She endured a number of surgeries to rotate the foot so that the Achilles tendon in her right leg acts as a knee joint allowing her to move her prosthesis around without a mechanical knee.

Allison began playing volleyball on her elementary school team in the 5th grade. This was standing volleyball with able-bodied students so Allison constantly had to prove her ability in order to get playing time. Her perseverance paid off when she made the Varsity team in high school. Her dedication and athletic ability got her noticed and she was recruited to play volleyball out of high school for a number of Division One colleges.

Eventually, Ahlfeldt learned about the U.S. Men’s Paralympic Volleyball team. After the first day of tryouts, she was asked to join and in 1997 became the only female member of that team. She played on the men’s team which competed against both able-bodied and disabled clubs.

Prior to the 2000 Paralympic Games of Sydney, Australia, the World Organization of Volleyball tried to remove Allison from the U.S. Team because of her gender. After years of legal wrangling and just two days before she was set to leave for Australia, a judge in Genoa denied her request to play.

Following the Sydney Paralympic Games, Allison, together with USA Volleyball and the U.S. Olympic Committee spent the next 4 years trying to recruit women players and cut through the red tape to form a women’s Paralympic program in time for the 2004 Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece. Just six months before the Athens Games, the women’s Paralympic Volleyball team was finalized and they shocked the world by winning the bronze medal. Allison’s focus now is training for the 2008 Summer Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.

Working with U.S. Paralympics® founding partner, The Hartford, Allison is helping to positively change attitudes and perceptions about disability by demonstrating the success that’s possible when we focus on an individual’s abilities, instead of on his or her disability.