Josh Turek

Turek was born on April 12, 1979, in Council Bluffs, Iowa.^[1] His father, John Turek, served in the United States Navy during the Vietnam War^[5] and was a vocational school administrator. His mother, Luellen, was a social worker and community college instructor.^[6] The family's first child, a girl, drowned in a pool as a toddler.^[7] The couple's third child, Joshua, grew up with three sisters and a brother.^[7][8]

Born with spina bifida, Turek underwent multiple surgeries as a child to improve mobility and has used a wheelchair since childhood.^[6] He has linked his spinal condition to his father's exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.^[9] In seventh grade, he began playing wheelchair basketball.^[10][11]

Turek is a graduate of Abraham Lincoln High School in Council Bluffs.^[12] In 2002, he earned a bachelor's degree in history from Southwest Minnesota State University.^[1] He later earned a Master of Business Administration from DeVry University.^[1]

From 1997 to 2002, Turek played wheelchair basketball at Southwest Minnesota State University, where he set school career records with 4,024 points and 1,213 rebounds.^[13] He was a four-time National Wheelchair Basketball Association (NWBA) All-American and was inducted into the NWBA's Hall of Fame in 2023.^[13][14][15]

After graduating, Turek began playing professionally in Europe. He played for clubs in Italy, France, and Spain for nearly two decades, including Bidaideak Bilbao BS in the Spanish Wheelchair Basketball League.^[16]

Turek was a member of the United States men's national wheelchair basketball team, coached by Ron Lykins.^[17] He helped the United States qualify for the 2020 Summer Paralympics at the 2019 Parapan American Games, where he led the team with 18 points in a 67–36 win over Argentina.^[18]

In four Paralympic appearances beginning with the 2004 Games in Athens, Turek won a bronze medal at the 2012 Games in London, a gold medal at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, and a gold medal at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. He also won a silver medal at the 2014 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships in Incheon.^[19]

On August 12, 2025, Turek announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.^[29] He defeated State Senator Zach Wahls in the Democratic primary.^[24] Turek faces the Republican nominee, U.S. Representative Ashley Hinson, in the general election.^[24]

Turek has called himself a "common-sense" moderate Democrat and a "prairie populist".^[30][2]

Turek is married to Jarolin Turek.^[12] They live in Council Bluffs, Iowa.^[12] He met his wife in Spain while playing professional basketball,^[16] and they married in 2018. His brother John and sister Elisha were also professional basketball players in Europe.^[34]