There’s a moment every parent feels proud when they watch their child achieve a big success. And for former WNBA star Sandra Van Embricqs, that moment hits every time her 17-year-old daughter steps onto the court or the track. “It’s amazing to see that she can do this sport,” Sandra shared with EssentiallySports about the incredible story of Arelle Middleton. Arelle, a silver medal winner at the 2024 Paralympics with congenital femoral deficiency, is an inspirational figure in her own right. And just because you think the silver was the best, think again, it was only the start.

Just recently, Arelle Middleton captured gold at the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships in New Delhi. After the event, she sat down for an interview with EssentiallySports. But she wasn’t alone. Her mother, Sandra Van Embricqs, was right there beside her, supportive, proud, and visibly emotional. Van Embricqs once played as a power forward and center for the Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA in 1998. Following her professional career, she became a girls’ basketball coach at Chino High School in California in 2010. And now, decades later, she was watching her own daughter chase greatness on a different stage. However, when Van Embricqs has deep roots in basketball, why did her daughter venture into track and field? Let’s hear it from Sandra.

Arelle Middleton is a shot put and discus thrower who also plays wheelchair basketball. Born with a congenital femoral deficiency, where her left leg is shorter than her right. However, rather than slowing her down, the condition merely influenced her determination. During the EssentiallySports interview, Van Embricqs was asked if she had any preferences with Arelle doing both wheelchair basketball and track.

To this, the former basketballer smiled and replied, “I don’t really have favoritism because I always let Arielle choose her sports. But I do enjoy basketball, and I do enjoy wheelchair basketball. So, it’s really nice to watch her, and it’s really nice to see what she can do in a wheelchair. And that’s already so super amazing to me to to to watch what happens in wheelchair basketball and how similar it is and just how more difficult it is in certain situations.”

She continued, “So, I enjoy wheelchair basketball, but track has been great, too. I mean, it’s it’s amazing to see that she can do this sport, and she can be by herself and just some suggestions from the coaches, and she does it. So, that’s that’s been amazing, and to see that she can do that at age 17.”

For Van Embricqs, watching her daughter move from strength to strength has been a breathtaking experience. “You know, first at age 16 and accomplish the things, it’s been a whirlwind of a year because she started last year to to do track internationally at the first World Championships last year in Japan, and then she won a silver medal, then she went to the Paralympics, won a silver medal, and then she comes here, and it’s just like a whole another level.”

“So, I’m I’m super proud of her, super proud of her progression, and I just think that being a dual sport is going to help her even more.” Arelle Middleton is among the youngest athletes on the 2024 U.S. Paralympic team.  She was only 16 when she won Paralympic silver in shot put and 17 when she won her first World title in New Delhi just days earlier. Her medals shine, but under the gloss is a daily workout that few teenagers are able to sustain.

How Arelle Middleton balances high school life, training, and gold-medal dreams

When Arelle Middleton is not representing Team USA, she is just a high school senior living in California: juggling classes, trains, and meets in her home state.  She frequently competes with able-bodied athletes, unlike most of her classmates, demonstrating that her strength is not constrained by her classification. She attributes the success of a well-laid time-table and the help of her mother to keeping things on the schedule. “She’s super supportive and always wants me to do my best,” Middleton said. “No matter what, she’s always proud of me and that helps a lot.” Sports are a passion.

Middleton began at the age of about five, whether it be water polo and volleyball, water wheelchair basketball, water wheelchair tennis, and, of course, shot put and discus. The fact that she had a mother growing up surely contributed to her early development of an athletic mentality.

At the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, Middleton threw 12.95 meters on her fourth attempt. And that’s how she secured gold. The victory marked an upgrade from her two consecutive silver-medal performances at the 2024 Paralympics and World Championships.

After her win, she was asked what it meant to represent Team USA at just 17, and Middleton replied simply and beautifully, “It’s been a great experience, honestly. It kind of feels unreal at first, just knowing that I represent Team USA.” To Arelle Middleton, the medals narrate one thing: the outcomes of strength and experience.  But in the case of Sandra Van Embricqs, it will be the mother seeing her daughter fly higher than she could ever dream.