Induction year: 2013
Sport: Wheelchair Basketball
​Jennifer Krempien of Richmond, B.C., was a member of Canada's powerhouse women's wheelchair basketball team from 1991 to 2008 and was co-captain from 2004 to 2008. Krempien competed at all five Paralympic Games between 1992 and 2008, helping Team Canada win three Paralympic gold medals and one bronze. She was also on four world championship-winning teams from 1994 to 2006 and was a tournament all-star at the 1998 and 2002 worlds.
"Jennifer demonstrated an incredible dedication and commitment to the sport and the team," said Tim Frick, who coached Team Canada during Krempien's career. "She continued to improve her fitness, technical skills and tactical knowledge each season. It is my opinion that she was our best player in Beijing, averaging 35 minutes a game (out of a maximum of 40), the highest on the team."
Krempien's dedication to the Paralympic movement has not been restricted to wheelchair basketball. Her Master of Science research at the University of British Columbia investigated the dietary adequacy of elite Canadian athletes with spinal cord injury. In 2010, Krempien was a dietitian for host medical services at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Games. She also works as a dietitian with the Canadian wheelchair curling and wheelchair rugby teams, along with Paralympic athletes in other sports.
Krempien was inducted into the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 2009 and named the 2008 Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Association's female athlete of the year. In 2007 at the Parapan American Games, she was Canada's flag bearer in the opening ceremonies. Krempien has also excelled in the highly-competitive Canadian Wheelchair Basketball League and Canadian Wheelchair Basketball Championships, leading her teams to 10 gold medals. She is a founding member of the Inferno Wheelchair Basketball Society in Edmonton, Alta.
