Erika Benjamin

Erika, who was born with cerebral palsy, graduated from John Glenn High School in 1983. She started her athletic endeavors as a swimmer and runner. In 1983 she participated in the National Cerebral Palsy Games held in Fort Worth, Texas. She won gold medals in 200 meter run, the 200 meter free-style swim, and the 25 meter backstroke swim. She also won a silver medal in the 60 meter run. Thereafter while running a race, Erika fell and injured her knee. To help restore the strength in her knees, Erika took up bicycling. She progressed to becoming an alternate in the 1988 Olympics, but did not complete due to the event being canceled. In 1990, she competed in the World Championships for the disabled held in Assen, Holland and placed fifth. In July of 1991, Erika competed in the Paralympic Trials in Long Island, New York, and won the right to advance to the Barcelona Olympics. In September 1992, Erika participated in the Paralympic in Barcelona, Spain and shattered the 5000 meter cycling event record by finishing in 8 minute 38 seconds. This was 1 minute and 10 seconds better than the previous world record. For this accomplishment, Erika received a gold medal. In addition, the City of Westland declared October 5th, 1992 as Erika Benjamin Day. Erika is a member of the Tri-City Seals Sports Team and active in the Westland Recreation Therapeutic  Program for Disabled Persons. She has been selected as one of the Cerebral Palsy Athletes of the Year and will be honored at a banquet in Denver, Colorado in the spring of 1993. Erika is the daughter of Richard and Helen Benjamin.