Aspen

Shelton

Quick Facts

• Began swimming at 18 months as a form of physical therapy due to being a premature baby at 26 weeks
• Became competitive at the age of nine
• Was born with stage three retinopathy of prematurity (ROP), amblyopia, anisometropia, Usher’s Syndrome, Macular Degeneration and Cortical /Cerebral Vision Loss (CVI)
• In 2020, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Shelton was diagnosed with a brain tumor in the center of her head the size of a baseball
• Shelton is still dealing with serious health issues but is now getting back into Paralympic swimming as well as Paralympic-equestrian as a form of physical therapy and to just have fun
• Hobbies include playing the piano, horseback riding, watching movies, volunteering in her community, collecting stickers and magnets from her travels and competitions, hanging with family and friends, and being with her animals
• Family includes parents Chad and Vicki Shelton, and brother, Ethan Shelton
• Shelton has two dogs, Edwina (Eddie) Aspen’s retired seeing-eye dog, her current seeing-eye dog Lake, and a cat named Agitos

World Championships Experience

• Most recent: 2017 – gold (100m Backstroke S12 - Women), silver (100m Freestyle S12 - Women), bronze (50m Freestyle S12 - Women)
• Years of participation: 100m Backstroke S12 - Women 2017; 100m Freestyle S12 - Women 2017; 50m Freestyle S12 - Women 2017
• Medals: 3 (1 gold, 1 silver, 1 bronze)
  • Gold – 2017 (100m Backstroke S12 - Women)
  • Silver – 2017 (100m Freestyle S12 - Women)
  • Bronze – 2017 (50m Freestyle S12 - Women)

Career Highlights

• Lima 2019 Parapan American Games, gold in the 4x100m freestyle mixed relay – 49 points; silver in the 100m backstroke S12, bronze in the 50m free S12
• Set U.S., Parapan and world records in the 200-meter backstroke S13 at the World Para Swimming World Series in Berlin in 2017
• Earned gold in the 100 backs S12 and silver in the 100 free S12 at the 2018 Pan-Pacific Championships
• Won multiple National Paralympic Championships from 2017 to 2019 including a national championship title in 2019 a few short weeks after having a stroke
• Swam at Aledo High School during her freshman and sophomore years, and set school records in the 100/200/500 free and 100 back
• Placed second in the 100 back and third in the 100 free at Texas UIL Regionals
• Qualified for Texas UIL state meet in 2017
• Scholastic All-American in 2016-17 and 2017-18
• Swam for NCAA Division 1 Loyola University Maryland