Top Athletes

LISA BANTA

Sport: Goalball
Hometown: Boonton, New Jersey, USA
Birthplace: Peguaneck, New Jersey, USA
Birthdate: 5/29/79
Height: 5’4”
Weight: 205 lbs.
Education: BA from DeSales University
Occupation: Director of Rehabilitation Services at the Southern Arizona Association for the Visually Impaired
Marital Status: Single
Cause of Blindness: Congenital
Age lost Visibility: Birth
Vision Class: B2

Lisa Banta became involved in sports as a way to overcome her disability and feels that her success in life can be attributed to her parents, who always encouraged her to be involved with extracurricular activities and never stood in her way. In 2004 Banta trained full-time at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs as a member of the first Paralympic team to obtain residency at the OTC.

Competition Highlights

2006	IBSA World Championships – bronze medal
	Malmo Ladies Intercup – second place
2004	Athens Paralympic Games – silver medal
	Malmo Ladies InterCup – first place
2003	Malmo Ladies InterCup – first place
2002	IBSA World Championships – gold medal and Top Scorer of the Championships
2001	3rd IBSA Pan American Games – gold medals in goalball and discus
	British Blind Sports Invitational Goalball Tournament – first place
	Malmo Ladies InterCup – third place
2000	Sydney Paralympic Games – sixth place in goalball; silver medal in discus
	British Blind Sports Invitational Goalball Tournament – second place
	Malmo Ladies InterCup – second place
1999	British Blind Sports Invitational Goalball Tournament – second place
	2nd IBSA Pan American Games – gold medal in javelin and silver medal in shot put and discus
1998	IBSA World Championships – bronze medal in goalball; competed in shot put
	USABA National Track and Field Championships – gold medal in shot put
	10th Annual British Blind Sports Goalball Tournament – third place
1997	National Track and Field Championships – gold medal in discus
	USABA National Goalball Championships – named All-American
1996	USABA National Goalball Championships – gold medal
	Atlanta Paralympics – first alternate for the U.S. Women’s Goalball Team

Honorable Mentions and Other Achievements

2003	Inducted into Boonton High School Hall of Fame
2002	Appeared in Sports Illustrated "Faces in the Crowd"
2001	Torchbearer for the 2002 Salt Lake Olympic Games
	Threw out the first pitch at a New Jersey Cardinals baseball game
1997	USABA All-American Goalball Team
1996	Named alternate to the U.S. Team for the Atlanta Paralympics

Hobbies: Playing sports, listening to music, reading, weight training
Personal Motto: "Success is a journey, not a destination."