Coach. Competitor. Champion.

As a child born with limb difference due to fibular hemimelia -- a rare condition in which a person’s fibular bone is partially or completely missing in their lower leg -- Beatriz Hatz did not always feel accepted by her schoolmates. When she discovered that playing sports created an environment in which she could excel, she launched wholeheartedly into myriad activities, including softball, basketball, soccer, karate and skiing. “Playing sports,” she says today, “Was the only time I felt ‘normal’.”

And after Beatriz received her first sports prosthesis and tried competitive Track and Field events, she found her true niche and hasn’t looked back since.

As a teen at the 2017 Junior Para World Championships, she won two gold medals and a silver medal in running and long jump events. The following year, she was named U.S. Paralympics’ Track and Field High School Athlete of the Year, and in 2019, was honored by the Sportswomen of Colorado Award in the High School Para athletics category.  At the recent ParaPan American Games in Santiago, Chile, Beatriz’s winning performance resulted I gold medals in both the 100m and Long Jump events, and a Silver medal in the 200m sprint.

Today, the Team USA Track & Field Paralympian, Team Össur member and Nike athlete says, “Overcoming limb difference and growing up with a disability was difficult, but because of my prosthesis, I have the freedom to be who I want to be and do anything I want to do. Össur’s technology helps me be the best athlete I can be and succeed in my field.”

Beatriz is currently training full-time in preparation for the 2024 Paris Paralympics, where she hopes to compete in the 100m and 200m sprint and Long Jump categories representing her country. She’s also coaching high school-level Track and Field athletes, where she aspires to be as inspirational to them as her own coaches have been for her.  She’s also been working on a children’s book, which she hopes will be published in the coming year.

It seems that in every aspect of her life, Beatriz Hatz is focused on excelling and inspiring as she continues living a Life Without Limitations.

“I think it’s important for people to know that even if someone have a disability, it does not define them. It might impact how they experience the world but it’s only a small part of them and certainly not the only interesting thing about them,” she says. “Being born with limb difference doesn’t define me. It’s simply a small part of me, and it won’t hold me back unless I let it.”