About

From day one, Anjali Forber-Pratt has always been a fighter. Anyone who knows her will vouch for the fact that her innate drive and determination are applied to every facet of her life, whether it’s academics, athletics or leading an organization. Forber-Pratt began her life halfway across the world in Calcutta (now Kolkata) India. She lived in an orphanage for two and a half months before being adopted by her loving family in Natick, Massachusetts, where she was raised. Just two months after arriving in the United States, Forber-Pratt contracted an illness resulting in the diagnosis of transverse myelitis, a neurological disorder due to inflammation of the spinal cord. She was rushed to the hospital, not expected to live. However, her fighting spirit shone through, and she survived, although her bout with transverse myelitis left her paralyzed from the waist down.
Since the very beginning of her life, Forber-Pratt has overcome challenges that would make others call it quits, from serious sport related injuries to having to fight to get an education. Forber-Pratt claims each of these experiences has made her stronger, physically and emotionally, and added to her drive to excel. Forber-Pratt’s hard work is paying off, as she has earned herself a spot among the world’s best athletes being named to the United States Paralympic Track and Field Team in 2007. Forber-Pratt is currently ranked among the top five fastest T53 women in the world for the 100 meter, 200 meter and 400 meter events. Most recently, Forber-Pratt brought home two gold medals in the 100 meter and 200 meter events from the 2007 ParaPan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, her first large international competition.
Forber-Pratt was introduced to the world of disabled sport at the ripe old age of five years old, when she attended a sports clinic for children with disabilities at the Massachusetts Hospital School in Canton, Massachusetts. Forber-Pratt was exposed to a variety of sports including: track and field, downhill skiing, table tennis and swimming. She took a particular liking to track and downhill skiing, and has had a great deal of success, both nationally and internationally, in both sports. By age 9, she was competing at the national level in track and field. However, at age 13, she faced a tremendous setback. She crashed during a road race, breaking both her wrists and further injuring her back. She was forced to take a hiatus from racing due to the strain on her wrists, but instead of giving up on her athletic aspirations, she turned to downhill skiing.
Her talent and work ethic earned her numerous top three finishes throughout her skiing career. In 1999, Forber-Pratt won a gold medal for the Giant Slalom in the junior division at Chevy Truck Disabled World Cup in Breckenridge, Colorado. She continued to exhibit athletic prowess capturing 3rd place in the women’s open division in the Super-G at the Columbia Crest Cup in 2000.
In 2002, Forber-Pratt traveled to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to start her life as a college student. Although she had to take a break from skiing, she became extremely involved with a variety of student organizations, as a leader and an activist. She received several awards for her leadership and service to others. She graduated in the top 3% of her class.
Forber-Pratt never lost her love of sport, and found her way back to the track in 2006. In July 2007, she competed at the United States Paralympic National Track and Field Championships, where she finished 1st place in the 100m and 200 meter events, 2nd in the 400 meters and 4th in the 800 meters. She was also named to the United States Paralympic Track and Field Team and selected to represent the United States at the ParaPan American Games in Rio de Janeiro—where she came home with two gold medals in the 100m and 200m and a bronze in the 400m. As mentioned earlier, she just returned from her first Paralympic Games experience on the world stage. She is currently focusing her efforts on preparing for the next quadrennial for London 2012. She is juggling her six day a week training schedule with the coursework for a doctorate degree in Human Resource Education, and her job as a graduate assistant for the University of Illinois College of Education. She plans to continue competing and hopes to eventually work in the field of disability development, helping to promote opportunities for individuals with disabilities worldwide. In her free time, Forber-Pratt enjoys volunteering and traveling.