Cheryl

Angelelli-Kornoelje

Amazingly, four years later, Angelleli won two silver medals at the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China.  At the 2010 IPC Swimming World Championships in Eindhoven, Netherlands Angelelli took home one gold medal (200 IM) and two silver medals (100m freestyle and 200m freestyle).

She sustained a spinal cord injury as a teenager when she broke her neck practicing a new racing dive in 1983. Despite the challenges of living as a quadriplegic, Angelelli turned stumbling blocks into stepping stones and turned tragedy into triumph.

A graduate of Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Mich., Angelelli holds a bachelor's degree in communications. Her interest in television journalism led her to freelance as a writer and reporter prior to her current employment as director of marketing and public relations for the Rehabilitation Institute of Michigan. In 1991, she was crowned Ms. Wheelchair Michigan and went on to win the title of First Runner-Up Ms. Wheelchair America.

During her reign, she traveled as a motivational speaker, dispelling the myths and stereotypes about persons with disabilities. Angelelli is also a freelance journalist, model and product spokesperson for Invacare wheelchairs.

Angelelli’s success in the pool and in life is the subject of a documentary film entitled “Untold Dreams.” For more information on the film, visit www.untolddreams.net. Angelelli co-produced the film to help build awareness about the Paralympics and the many abilities of persons with disabilities.