by Daniel Parker, RDPFS Contributor:
With the 2024 Summer Olympic Games just concluded, and the 2024 Summer Paralympics starting on August 28, 2024 in Paris, France, it is timely to cover some participants in these sporting events who have vision impairments. One athlete, artistic gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik, competed in the general Olympics rather than the Paralympics. A Pommel horse specialist, Nedoroscik’s routine went viral in July and won him the bronze medal in the men’s Pommel horse final, as well as cementing the U.S. team’s all-around third-place finish. Born with strabismus, or “misalignment of the eyes,” and coloboma, a “loss of tissue in a part of the eye,” Nedoroscik began gymnastics at about age four. “’I would crawl up the walls, I’d shimmy up the door and it scared the babysitter,’” he recalled. “’And my parents just called me their ‘little monkey boy, and they decided, ‘Hey, this kid probably would do a good job if we put him in gymnastics.’” At Pennsylvania State University, he decided to specialize in Pommel horse. After not qualifying for the Tokyo games held in 2021, Nedoroscik got to Paris via an unusual strategy on the part of the U.S. team. Rather than sending athletes who would each compete on all apparatus, the U.S. team sent Nedoroscik to compete only on Pommel horse. “’When I was very, very young people would tell me, ‘One day you’re going to be an Olympian!’” he said. “’Back then I was just a dorky little kid. And now look at me — I’m a dorky adult, going to the Olympics.’” Much has been published and circulated online about Nedoroscik and his routine, and he has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR)’s All Things Considered, on CNN, and numerous other mainstream outlets.
U.S. Men’s Goalball Team will Compete in 2024 Paralympic Games
The U.S. men’s goalball team, the 2022 Americas champion, has been selected for the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. The roster of six has been announced by the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes (USABA). A feature of the Paralympics since the 1976 Toronto Games, goalball is played by two teams, each with three players who are visually impaired. The objective is to get the basketball-sized ball with bells over the opponents’ goal line without them being able to block it. More information can be found in the USABA’s article on goalball. The roster includes Tre’Shaun Faison of Orange Park, Florida; Christian King of Virginia Beach, Virginia; Tyler Merren of Greenville, Michigan; Matt Simpson of Smyrna, Georgia; Calahan Young of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and Zion Walker of Winchester, Virginia. Zach Buhler of Huntington, Indiana, and Jordan Main of Austin, Texas were named as alternates. The team’s Head Coach is Keith Young, and their Assistant Coach is James Wallace. Merren, Simpson, and Young all competed previously at the Paralympics. Merren is a four-time Paralympian who competed along with Simpson at the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, which won silver. Simpson and Young were part of the men’s team at the Tokyo Games. Amanda Duke Boulet, USABA Director of Sport Performance, noted of the 2024 squad: “Our depth of talent is the deepest it has been in many years, and we are looking forward to this group of men competing for and representing Team USA and USABA at the Paris Paralympics this summer. We are pleased to have a mix of return Paralympians and first-time Paralympians as part of our 2024 Paris Paralympic team representing themselves and our country on our quest for a Paralympic medal.” Head Coach Keith Young added: “We are thrilled to announce this incredible group of athletes who will represent Team USA in Paris. It has been a whirlwind the last 3 years since the Tokyo Paralympic Games, with the qualification process and preparation leading into the Paris Paralympic Games. This team has a high level of competitive drive and a great mixture of veterans and emerging international players. We are confident they will make us proud on the world stage.” More information can be found at the links above and in past coverage in this bulletin. We will continue to cover the Paralympic Games as they progress.
