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Here is a glimpse at some of America’s top athletes who will be performing at the 2007 Winter Deaflympics. Information is from one of America’s premier publications SIGNews. Visit the SIGNews website for more information.
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Skier AMANDA GOYNE
Top skier Amanda Goyne, a 19-year-old freshman at the University of Nevada, Reno, began skiing when she was three years old and racing when she was six years old.
“I was hooked from the first day,” she said. “When I turned 13, I joined the Sugar Bowl ski team with which I have been racing nationally and internationally until this year.”
Now Goyne races on the University of Nevada ski team. Her teammates come from Canada, Norway, and Finland.
She has competed in the U.S. Nationals and Nor-Am Cup Finals, the most prestigious races in North America. In 2003, she earned gold, silver, and bronze medals at the 15th Winter Deaflympics in Sweden.
Goyne is looking forward to the Winter Deaflympics in Salt Lake City. The previous Winter Deaflympics in Sweden were “an amazing cultural experience,” she said, as well as “one of the best times of my life.”
Snowboarder JEFF POLLACK
Snowboarder Jeff Pollock, 36, a professor at the University of Utah, began snowboarding in 1985, in Connecticut. He eventually focused on snowboarding exclusively, participating in competition in Michigan and making the team for the Winter Deaflympics in 1999.
Pollack went to school with hearing students, and he grew up without sign language. When he moved to Utah, he married and became immersed in the deaf community. For Pollock, the most important thing about the Deaflympics is meeting and talking with other athletes.
“Everyone is from different countries and has so many different signs. It is always fascinating for me to sit and talk. It brings home the value of our [deaf] community as everyone has similar experiences…”ere's a cool way to test your knowledge of deaf athletes. Check out our word jumble puzzle. Click on the link below, print the puzzle using your printer, and have fun!
Skier JONAS VIRNIG
Skier Jonas Virnig, 16, hopes to race in all of the skiing events at the Deaflympics. On the slopes since he was 3 and racing since he was 7, Virnig missed two years of competition after he fell from a chair lift and broke his thumb,
but returned to make the 2007
Deaflympics ski team.
He lives in Inver Grove Heights, Minnesota, and he practices often at a ski resort 20 miles away from his parents’ home. A first time Deaflympian, Virnig hopes to win some medals, then travel around the world, and eventually become a coach for the U.S. Deaflympic team.
“I hope to show the world that a male USA racer can win a medal again!” Virnig said.