Our athletes Laurie Williams

After being scouted at a wheelchair racing event in 2005, Laurie Williams fell in love with both the physical and team characteristics of wheelchair basketball.

The Manchester native started playing competitively in 2008, quickly earning herself a place within the GB Women’s setup. Renowned for her speed on the basketball court, Laurie made her Paralympic Games debut in front of a home crowd at the London 2012 Games and then was part of the GB Women’s team which secured a historic fourth place finish at the 2016 Rio Paralympics.

Alongside senior success, Laurie had great success within the junior international circuit. Laurie played her way to silver at the 2014 Women’s U25 European Championships and, in 2015, co-captained the GB Women’s U25 Team with Amy Conroy to the title of U25 World Champions in Beijing, China.

After graduating from Loughborough University with a degree in Social Psychology, Laurie went on to train and study Human Development and Family Studies at the University of Alabama – winning the 2014 National Championship with the Crimson Tide in her graduation year.

2018 was an incredible year for the Greater Manchester player – Laurie and her team brought home the World Championships silver medal from Hamburg following a stunning performance by the GB Women’s Team.

GB Representation and Results
2010 World Championships, Birmingham
2011 U25 World Championships, Ontario
2011 European Championships, Nazareth (Bronze)
2012 Paralympic Games, London
2013 European Championships, Frankfurt (Bronze)
2014 U25 European Championships, Hannover
2014 World Championships, Toronto
2015 U25 World Championships, Beijing (Gold)
2015 European Championships, Worcester (Bronze)
2016 Paralympic Games, Rio
2018 World Championships, Hamburg (Silver)
2019 European Championships, Rotterdam (Silver)
2020 (played in 2021) Paralympic Games, Tokyo
2021 European Championships, Madrid (Silver)
2023 European Championships, Rotterdam (Silver)
2024 Paralympic Games, Paris
2025 European Championships, Sarajevo (Silver)