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Gold in Hockey & 4 Alpine Medals!

Just a quick note to let you know that we won the GOLD in hockey!!! Plus we won four alpine medals yesterday!
Get all the details at www.usparalympics.org  ...gotta run.

March 2010 | Blog Comments
Categories: Inspiration

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US Gold in Vancouver!

Team USA won its first Gold Medal in the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games today as mono-ski sensation Alana Nichols of Farmington, NM, took home the Gold in the Giant Slalom and, by the way, rocketed into the history books as the first woman US Paralympian to win Gold medals in BOTH the winter and summer Paralympic Games (Alana was a member of the Gold winning Wheelchair Basketball team in Beijing)! Also very exciting is the fact that when Alana looks over to the Silver podium, she'll see her teammate, Park City's own Stephani Victor, collecting her medal for the second place victory! That's both Gold AND Silver medals for Team USA in the Women's Sitting GS! Way to go, girls! In other news, the US Curling Team lost to Sweden, breaking it's stellar winning streak, but still remains tied (with Korea) for second place with 4 wins and 2 losses. The Canadian curlers are in the lead, winning 5 and losing only 1, so our gang is still well within a shot at the Gold as the competition continues. At the Thunderbird Arena, the US Sledge Hockey team remained undefeated by beating Japan 6-0 and advancing to the semi-finals. This crushing victory is certainly fanning the flames of speculation that there may be yet another US-Canada showdown for Hockey Gold in Vancouver! I wonder what President Obama will bet Prime Minister Harper over this one!   If you’d like to track the day-to-day results, the website is: http://www.vancouver2010.com/paralympic-games/schedule---results/ . GO USA!!!

March 2010 | Blog Comments

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We Won Our First Medal!

Andy Soule has taken home our first Team USA medal by winning the Bronze in the Biathlon!!! We had the good fortune to see Andy compete, and help cheer him on to the medal podium. For those of you who don’t know, the Paralympic Biathlon is a grueling event that combines Nordic skiing with target shooting. The athletes complete a course that wends up hills and down, then deposits them onto the shooting gallery where they are tested in their accuracy, followed by another lap around the course, more shooting, etc. It’s spectacular to watch! Different disabilities have different challenges – some sit in chair sleds like Andy, others ski with their legs but can use only one pole, and we even saw a few skiers with no arms at all who lie down and shoot with special guns that they operate with their teeth! Amazing. After the biathlon, we headed to the Alpine downhill event that was, unfortunately, canceled due to the thick fog that never seemed to clear on Whistler Mountain. We caught up with our dear friends Ralph Green and Caitie Sarubbi, and were happy to have some time to share a few laughs during the delay. We’re looking forward to seeing them compete today, as the Alpine events finally get underway at 10AM PDT. (Check my earlier blog entry for how to watch online or on TV) We’re also off to see the US Team take on the Czech Republic in Sledge Hockey, and the Germans in curling. Darcy and I got a curling lesson from one of the team coaches and, believe me, it’s a lot harder than it looks! ---Bonnie St. John

March 2010 | Blog Comments
Categories: Inspiration

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Report from Opening Ceremony

Well, I must say the Canadian Olympic Committee outdid themselves once again for the Paralympic Opening Ceremonies! The show was nothing short of spectacular! The parade of athletes was not only moving (inspiring) but it was MOVING! The music rocked, everyone danced, and it was a joyous PARTY! The Canadians really let loose--the whole show was a celebration of disabled ability and excitement. There was a man with emaciated legs who was BREAKDANCING, wheelchairs were doing flips on half-pipe, a famous Canadian rock star with one arm, one leg and a heck of a voice wowed us all. We broke the world record for flash mob dancing with a synchronized audience dance. You can see lots of photos on my facebook page (Bonnie Lee St John). I felt so moved to see disabled athletes truly honored as national heroes. Gotta run--we are heading up to Whistler for skiing and Biathlon today! I will be cheering for Ralph Green the only other African American, amputee US team alpine skier...and Caitie the visually impaired skier from Windham...and of course all of team USA!! I was told that we have a good chance for a medal in biathlon. Stay tuned for HOCKEY on Sunday, too! For where and how to watch, look at the earlier blog entries. GO USA!!!!

March 2010 | Blog Comments

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