Blind triathlete will make run - and bike and swim - history in U.S. Open

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Northwest Indiana Times, IN, USA
Saturday, October 13, 2007

Blind triathlete will make run - and bike and swim - history in U.S. Open

By PAUL J. WEBER, Associated Press Writer

Saturday, October 13, 2007 12:08 AM CDT 

DALLAS | Blind triathlete Aaron Scheidies has stumbled over potholes, knocked 
over tables of water, and never went back to check if he killed a duck he once 
ran over.

He's nearly swam into buoys and ran into trees. And when he attempts to make 
history Sunday as the first disabled athlete to finish in under two hours at 
the U.S Open Triathlon, yes -- his guide will be riding on the front seat of 
their tandem bike.

"Honestly," Scheidies says, "you won't believe how many people ask that."

The 25-year-old is the best visually impaired triathlete in the world. He is 
widely considered the best ever and, for that matter, might be the best 
handicapped triathlete ever.

Legally blind since fourth grade because of a genetic disorder, Scheidies is a 
three-time world champion among blind triathletes. He typically finishes only 
minutes behind the sighted professionals, many of whom are in line to compete 
at the 2008 Olympics.

"He's pushing the limits of what anybody thought was going to be possible for a 
blind triathlete," said Jon Beeson, the co-chairman of the physically 
challenged commission at USA Triathlon.

If Scheidies breaks the two-hour barrier in Dallas, he'll set a world mark as 
the first blind athlete to do so in an Olympic distance triathlon, composed of 
a 1.5-kilometer swim, 40K bike and 10K run. His guide at the U.S. Open will be 
Ben Collins, who is forgoing a shot at a piece of the $250,000 in prize money 
to tether himself to Scheidies' waist for the run and swim.

And, of course, sit up front on the tandem.

"He's sort of a wonder to me," said Collins, who turned pro this year after 
winning the amateur world title. "I'm just surprised how well Aaron deals with 
his disability."

Well enough that Scheidies has actually had trouble finding guides who can keep 
up with him.

Scheidies, who lives in Seattle and graduated from Michigan State, was a 
third-grader in Michigan when his teacher told his parents their son was 
squinting at the chalkboard and burying his face in books to read.

Glasses didn't help and neither did ophthalmologists. Some doctors even accused 
Scheidies of faking a sight problem to get attention from his parents.

"They told us it was a power game," said Mike Scheidies, Aaron's father.

Scheidies spent almost five years visiting a phone book's worth of specialists 
before finally being diagnosed with juvenile macular degeneration, a condition 
in which the central vision slowly deteriorates. Only 10 percent of his sight 
now remains.

He sees shapes but not objects, outlines but not people. In high school, he 
kept playing soccer until he began whiffing at the ball.

"He really tried to hide it from other kids," said his mother, Mary Scheidies. 
"He tried to ignore it. ...Teenagers can be really mean."

Things changed once he started doing triathlons. His parents would drive him 
around the course the night before races, helping him learn the location of the 
potholes and turns: A left at the big white building. Bear right at the 
Starbucks logo.

"When I look back at everything, having this visual impairment is actually a 
blessing in my life," said Scheidies, who has raced in more than 70 triathlons. 
"I've learned that you can't take things for granted."

The U.S. Open is the last in a five-leg triathlon series and will include 40 of 
the sports' top athletes, including Australian Greg Bennett, who finished 
fourth at the 2004 Olympics, and his wife, Laura, who will race for the U.S. at 
the Beijing Olympics.

In July, Scheidies finished the New York City Triathlon in 2 hours, 3 minutes, 
his best time to date.

Beeson, of USA Triathlon, said the only disabled athlete that comes close to 
matching Scheidies is Brazil's Rivaldo Martins, who was already an elite 
triathlete before losing his lower left leg in an accident. Still, Beeson said 
Scheidies' best times are minutes ahead of Martin's top marks.

Scheidies said it will take "a perfect race" to come in under two hours.

"It's definitely a possibility," he said. "We're going to fly." 


http://nwitimes.com/articles/2007/10/13/sports/pro_sports/doce39d27994e7ca75286257372006df9ed.txt
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Blind triathlete will make run - and bike and swim - history in U.S. Open