Barbi Baum
Competition | 2023
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Barbi Baum’s love for adaptive sports began at the University of Illinois, where she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degree. She was president of their disabled sports organization. As an adaptive athlete most of her life, Baum has shared her time and talents endlessly encouraging new spinal cord injury patients and those with other disabilities to participate. From Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, She was one of the founding members of Three Rivers Adaptive Sports (1989), has been on the board since inception and president since 2015. She helped start the waterski program over 30 years ago and has been organizing the annual learn to ski clinic ever since.
Baum competed in the 1980 Paralympic Games in Holland, in swimming and track. Over the course of her career she has won many medals. She returned in 1988 in Innsbrook. In 1973, she was awarded the PA Governor’s Cup and has received the Volunteer Award from Harmarville Rehab Hospital and the Bob Ross Water Ski Volunteer Award in 2022.
