Owens says Burdette pushed her to excel in the sport and, consequently, she qualified for and competed in the 2004 Paralympic Games at the age of 14.

[1] Owens participated in the 2004 Summer Paralympics in Athens, Greece where she won one gold and one bronze medal at the age of 14 for swimming.

[2] In 2006, she set a new Pan-American record in the 1500 meter freestyle which let her participate in IPC Swimming World Championships which was hosted in Durban, South Africa.

In 2008, she graduated from Stockbridge High School and during the same year got into first place in U.S. Paralympic Swimming Trials which were hosted in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

During the same year she also set world record in two freestyles; One was 200 metre while the other one was 400 meter, all of which were Can-Am Championships and were hosted at Victoria, British Columbia.