Beatriz Hatz amputated at 10 months, now Love Island

Beatriz Hatz, 25, a U.S. Paralympic long jumper who won bronze at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, is set to join Love Island USA Season 8 in Fiji. Her path to the podium began in infancy after a rare congenital condition—fibular hemimelia—led doctors to amputate h

When Beatriz Hatz walks onto the Love Island USA villa, it won’t just be a new camera angle. It will be the latest turn in a life that started with an early, life-altering decision—one made when she was barely old enough to understand what was happening.

Hatz, now 25, has been announced as a contestant for Season 8 of Love Island USA. The show, hosted by Ariana Madix, is set in Fiji. For many viewers, she’ll arrive as a recognizable face from elite sport. But her story goes back much further than the spotlight.

Hatz was born on October 7, 2000, in Colorado with a rare congenital condition called fibular hemimelia. Her right leg had not fully developed, with the fibula bone missing. Doctors amputated her right leg below the knee when she was just 10 months old. The medical choice. she later described. helped improve her mobility—and made it possible for her to grow using a prosthetic leg.

Her health journey didn’t end with the amputation. She underwent 10 surgeries while growing up, including bilateral knee procedures. Those operations helped straighten her knees and allowed her to better use a prosthetic leg as she developed. The body that carried her toward competition had already been through years of repair, adjustment, and adaptation.

Despite the repeated surgeries and the daily work of using a prosthesis, Hatz built a successful athletic career. In 2018, she was named the U.S. Paralympics Track and Field High School Female Athlete of the Year. Since then, she has earned medals at major events, including the World Championships, Parapan American Games, and World Junior Championships. Her biggest moment came in 2024 at the Paris Paralympics. where she won a bronze medal in the women’s long jump for Team USA.

In remarks to Össur, Hatz described what living with limb difference has been like. “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.”

She has also spoken about the technical side of competing long jump with her prosthetic leg. In a 2024 interview with Interview Magazine, she said: “Honestly, for me, it’s probably just the takeoff. My runway is really good. I have very good rhythm. I bring a lot of speed. but I need to be able to put my foot down and drive my knee. and have my arms come with it. I have a pretty bad habit of pushing both my arms in and going straight into my landing. when I need to be more patient.”.

Now. as she steps into Love Island USA Season 8—into a show built around relationships. reinvention. and being watched—Hatz arrives with more than medals. She brings the kind of history that doesn’t fit neatly into a highlight reel: fibular hemimelia. an amputation at 10 months. 10 surgeries during childhood. and the long grind of learning how to move. compete. and win.

In the villa, viewers may focus on romance and drama. But for Hatz, the spotlight is only changing shape. The core of her story—how a prosthetic leg became a doorway, not a limit—has already been written. And now, it’s heading into a new arena.

Beatriz Hatz Love Island USA Season 8 Ariana Madix Fiji Paralympic long jumper fibular hemimelia leg amputation prosthetic leg 2024 Paris Paralympics bronze medal Team USA