Darda Sales

Darda Geiger was born in London, Ontario, on September 1, 1982.[1] She was the youngest of four children, with two older brothers and an older sister. She grew up on a farm in rural Ontario. In 1985, when she was two, she lost her right leg above the knee in a farm accident.[2][3] She has a Bachelor of Arts with Honors degree in kinesiology from the University of Western Ontario and a postgraduate certificate in therapeutic recreation. She is an athlete therapeutic recreational therapist.[2][4]

When Geiger was nine, she met three athletes who were training for the 1992 Summer Paralympics in Barcelona, and decided to become a Paralympian too.[5] This dream came true at the 2000 Summer Paralympics in Sydney. As a member of the 4x100 medley relay team, she won a gold medal in the world record time.[2] This was followed by a gold medal in the same event at the IPC Swimming World Championships in 2002,[4] and a silver at the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens.[2] She also won bronze medals in the 100 m freestyle and 400 m freestyle events at the 2006 IPC World Championships.[4]

Geiger married Brad Sales, a fellow Paralympic swimmer and member of the Canadian national swim team,[2] and now goes by the name of Darda Sales. They have three children.[1] She competed in the 50 m, 100 m and 400m freestyle and the 100 m backstroke events at the 2008 Summer Paralympics in Beijing, her third Paralympic Games, but did not win a medal.[2]

Sales retired from swimming in 2009, but became interested in wheelchair basketball. She competed for Team Ontario at the women's national championships, and made the national team in 2014.[1] She was part of the team that won a gold medal at the 2014 Women's World Wheelchair Basketball Championship in Toronto in July 2014.[6] and silver at the 2015 Parapan American Games in August 2015.[7]

• Darda Sales at the Canadian Paralympic Committee
• Darda Sales at the International Paralympic Committee
• It's All in the Bounce - Documentary on YouTube