Making Their Mark: Jean Driscoll

A new documentary premiering on the Big Ten network features three extraordinary women at the University of Illinois. The program shows how Jean Driscoll uses sports to change lives. Driscoll’s wheelchair racing wins include two Olympic medals and 12 Paralympic medals. Driscoll also was the first person to win the Boston Marathon eight times. When she retired from racing in 2000, she started helping those with disabilities in Ghana, West Africa. On her first visit to Ghana in 2001, she witnessed the harsh conditions and discrimination faced by people with disabilities in that country. She conducted several wheelchair racing clinics in Ghana that led to that country’s first-ever Paralympic team. She also helped bring two coaches and eight athletes from Ghana to Illinois for training with the U. of I. team. Driscoll currently is the senior director of development in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.