Scheidies becomes first blind triathlete to break 2-hour barrier at Olympic distance

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  • Date: Sun, 14 Oct 2007 20:11:51 -0400

International Herald Tribune
Sunday, October 14, 2007

Scheidies becomes first blind triathlete to break 2-hour barrier at Olympic 
distance

By The Associated Press

DALLAS: Aaron Scheidies became the first blind triathlete to finish an 
Olympic-distance triathlon in under two hours Sunday, finishing the U.S. Open 
Triathlon in 1 hour, 58 minutes, 8 seconds.

The 25-year-old Scheidies and guide Ben Collins crossed the finish line 48th 
overall, about 14 minutes behind winner and Australian Olympian Greg Bennett. 
The field of about 1,100 included 41 professional triathletes.

"I'm ecstatic," Scheidies said. "Not necessarily because of what I did, but I 
wanted to prove to general society that people with disabilities can do things 
better than able-bodied individuals."

Scheidies, who lives in Seattle, suffers from juvenile macular degeneration, a 
condition in which the central vision slowly deteriorates. Only 10 percent of 
his sight remains.

Legally blind since fourth grade, Scheidies was tethered to Collins for the 
1.5-kilometer swim and 10K run. In between, they rode a tandem bike in the 40K 
cycling leg.

Bennett finished in 1:44.41. His victory gave him a sweep in the five-race Life 
Time Fitness Triathlon Series and earned US$420,000 (?296,000).

American Sarah Haskins won the women's race in 1:55:45.


http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/10/14/sports/NA-SPT-TRI-Blind-Triathlete.php
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