[Sportsandrec] Fw: Team USA Wins Triple Gold in Goalball

[Christella Garcia]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: United States Association of Blind Athletes 
To: Christella Garcia 
Sent: Tuesday, August 11, 2009 1:27 PM
Subject: Team USA Wins Triple Gold in Goalball



For Immediate Release                                                       
August 11, 2009                                                                                     
Contact: Ryan Ortiz, USABA 
(719) 630-0422, ext. 12

Team USA Wins Triple Gold in Goalball

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - More than 350 blind and visually impaired athletes recently wrapped up competition at the 2009 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) World Youth and Student Championships and Pan American Games held July 16-19.

Hosted by the United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA), competitors from 26 nations participated in goalball, judo, swimming and track and field.

Several highlights from Team USA which consisted of 72 athletes from around the United States included:
·        In goalball - a sport designed for blind and visually impaired athletes - the U.S. won gold medals in the boys' World Youth and Student Championships and the men's and women's divisions of the Pan American Game;
·        14 judo athletes, including American 2008 Paralympian Myles Porter (Colorado Springs, CO) who fought to win gold medals in both the 100kg and open division events.
·        At the pool, Carrie Willoughby (Colorado Springs, CO) won five gold medals for the U.S. 
women's squad in the Pan American Games. Among the boys, Tharon Drake (Hobbs, NM) brought in a haul of four golds and two silvers in the World Youth and Student Championships.
·        Track performances for the U.S. included gold medal wins for 2008 Paralympian Josiah Jamison (Vance, SC) and Paralympic hopeful Markeith Price (Baltimore, MD).

“This event was wonderful opportunity to showcase in Colorado Springs some of the best blind and visually impaired athletes in the world including from the United States, said Mark Lucas, USABA Executive Director. 

The countries who attended the event included: Argentina, Austria, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada,  Chinese Taipei, Columbia, the Dominican Republic, Germany, India, Kuwait, Mexico, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Russia, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, Uzbekistan,  and Venezuela.



For more information, contact USABA executive director Mark Lucas at (719) 630-0422.


USABA, a member organization of the U.S. Olympic Committee, is a non-profit organization that provides training for blind and visually impaired athletes for competition in nine sports. USABA members range from blind children developing sports skills to elite athletes who train for competitions such as the Paralympic Games, the world's second largest athletic competition that draws more than 4,000 disabled athletes. For complete results go to www.usaba.org.



For Immediate Release                                                       
August 11, 2009                                                                                     
Contact: Ryan Ortiz, USABA 
(719) 630-0422, ext. 12