[Nfbc-info] Beach Cities Chapter member: Blind Paralympic rower heading for a busy future

[Fred's ol' XP]

Federationists -
We are very proud of Eleni's hard work, and look forward to more 
great achievements!
Beach Cities Chapter - NFB California

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/columnists/pfingsten/pfingsten-blind-paralympic-rower-heading-for-a-busy-future/article_f21b9a05-3eaa-5291-a53b-c5a574df40ef.html 





Blind Paralympic rower heading for a busy future

2012-09-09T10:00:00Z 2012-09-08T19:27:15Z PFINGSTEN: Blind Paralympic 
rower heading for a busy futureBy TOM PFINGSTEN For the North County Times


Eighteen-year-old Eleni Englert's time in the spotlight started in 
London, but rather than the standard 15 minutes, her career is likely 
to be measured in four-year increments between Olympic Games.

In late August, as the Vista teenager prepared for her turn in the 
hull of a racing craft in English waters, the world had already been 
dazzled by hundreds of professional athletes during the 2012 Summer Games.

But it was a coed team of rowers pulling hard against oars as well as 
physical impairments that would captivate Englert's North County fans.

Englert's challenge is blindness.

Maureen de Long, who described herself as a family friend and the 
team's head cheerleader, told me Friday that Englert's eyesight has 
suffered at the hands of an incurable disease called Stargardt's.

"She was diagnosed with this a few years ago, maybe when she was 12 
or 13 years old," de Long said. "It's a degenerative eye disease, and 
as she gets older, she's losing more and more of her vision."

That wasn't about to stop Englert, whose family has always been 
athletic. (Her father, Vista dentist Jon Englert, was a rower himself 
earlier in life.)

"She was participating in some other sports like basketball that she 
couldn't do with her declining vision," de Long told me. "She hasn't 
been rowing that long, to be this successful."

Englert found a San Diego team and started competing. Soon, she was 
flying all over the place to row ---- New Zealand, Slovakia. London 
was not the farthest she had gone to compete, but it was by far the 
biggest stage.

"She's been traveling around the country, going to different national 
and international competitions ---- and all the while maintaining a 
4.0 average at school," de Long said.

There was no medal in store for Englert's team this year.

"The first day, they came in second place in their preliminaries, and 
then the second day they came in second place," said de Long. "The 
third day, they went to the finals and they were up against some 
really stiff competition, and unfortunately, they placed sixth. But 
you're talking seconds, regardless. It's not that much time."

Englert is a powerful rower, to hear de Long tell it: "She's a big 
girl ---- she's 6'2" and 185 pounds. She's a machine."

Meanwhile, Englert's guide dog, a yellow lab named Briggs, became a 
mascot of sorts for Team USA, de Long said.

At 18 and headed for the University of Washington, Englert is a 
shoo-in for bigger and better things. Briggs just might make more 
than one games, as well, said de Long: "I'm pretty sure she's slated 
to go to Rio, but they can't say it."