All About Love Island USA's Beatriz Hatz, a Two-Time Paralympian (DETAILS)
The Season 8 Islander took home a bronze medal at the 2024 Paralympic Summer Olympics.
Key Takeaways
- Beatriz Hatz is a decorated Paralympic track and field athlete who earned a bronze medal in long jump at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
- Born with a rare birth defect, she embraces advocRead More
- Beatriz Hatz is a decorated Paralympic track and field athlete who earned a bronze medal in long jump at the 2024 Paralympic Games.
- Born with a rare birth defect, she embraces advocacy for disabled youth and proudly represents the community.
- She joins Love Island USA Season 8 with a confident, upbeat personality and a clear type she’s excited to pursue in the Villa.
Welcome back Islanders, an Olympian has entered the Villa!
That's right, Beatriz Hatz has joined the Season 8 cast of Love Island USA and is bringing an impressive, decorated resume with her. The 26-year-old Islander from San Diego, California has had her eyes set on the prize long before arriving in Fiji. "
I am a professional athlete," Beatriz told Love Island USA cameras ahead of her Villa debut.
In recent years, before looking for love and potentially walking away with a cash prize of $100,000 of Love Island USA, Beatriz was competing for a coveted medal on Team USA. Read on to learn all about Beatriz and her inspiring Paralympic career.
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Beatriz Hatz from Love Island USA Season 8 is an Paralympic athlete
Born and raised in Colorado, Beatriz has competed in two Paralympic Games in track and field. She made her Olympic debut in the Tokyo Paralympic Games in 2020, competing in multiple events, and went on to win the bronze medal in the long jump at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (Watch the amazing moment she snagged her first Olympic medal, here!)
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In a video for Team USA, Beatriz got a bit choked up looking back at the moment she won at the 2024 Paralympic Games. "It was so real at that moment when they handed me the flag," she said, adding that the "camaraderie within our sport is amazing."
She also shared that she loves to do her glam before an event. "It's kind of like my war paint," she said. "I love doing my makeup. I love to look pretty. I just want to be out there looking like a Barbie doll."
Love Island USA's Beatriz was born with a rare birth defect
In her Love Island USA intro, Beatriz shares that she "was born with a rare birth defect." According her Team USA bio, Beatriz was born without a fibula in her right leg, a congenital condition known as Fibular Hemimelia. When she was 10 months old, Beatriz underwent surgery to amputate the limb below her knee and shared with Amplitude Magazine that she's proud to "represent the disabled community."
“I really don’t like pity and I’ve seen people say, ‘Oh I feel so bad for you’ Don’t feel bad for me I can do everything you can do,” Beatriz told the magazine. "I just like proving them wrong. I don’t showboat about it … It just makes me feel good that I represent the disabled community that way."
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Ahead of the 2024 Summer Paralympics, where she took home a bronze, Beatriz sat down with Interview magazine and opened up about how she tries to be an "advocate" for others, especially kids who also use prosthetics.
"I got bullied growing up, and I know what that’s like for other kids," she shared. "And out in public, I’ll see a little kid who’s got a prosthetic, and I’ll immediately walk over, even if I’m wearing pants, and say, 'Hey, you’re just like me. Look, I have one, too.' And their parents always tell me, 'Thank you for that. They always feel like the only ones.' When I was little, I definitely felt like the only one. I love that I can be a help and an advocate, even for people who are able-bodied."
And when asked what she'd tell younger generations to inspire them, Beatriz said: "Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t."
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What's next for Beatriz and her journey on Love Island USA? The Villa is always full of surprises, but we already know which Bombshells she'll be eyeing.
"What's my type? Ooooh!" Beatriz said with a smile in her intro video before enthusiastically answering, "Tall dark and handsome!"
Watch episodes of Love Island USA Season 8 exclusively on Peacock at 6 p.m./9 p/m/ ET every day, except Wednesdays. And set aside some extra time on Saturdays when new episodes of Love Island Aftersun, hosted by Summer House's Ciara Miller and Tefi Pessoa, also drop on Peacock.
