Olympics Blog

Category: Paralympics

Watch Paralympics online

The 2008 Beijing Paralympics aren't getting a lot of TV time, but you can find live coverage of the Games online at Paralympic Sport TV.

You can also catch up on previous days events and get daily recaps on its YouTube channel. Here's a clip from Day 1 of the Games.

Check out what these elite athletes with disabilities are doing. It's inspiring and amazing.

Also, follow along as Clinton Township swimmer Cheryl Angelelli shares her experiences in Beijing in the Disabilities blog.

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Category: Paralympics

Cheryl Angelelli takes silver in 100m freestyle at Paralympics

Metro Detroiter Cheryl Angelelli earned the U.S. Paralympic team's first medal of the 2008 Beijing Games, a silver in the 100 meter freestyle Sunday.

Angelelli was ranked No. 1 going into the event, but competitor Nely Miranda of Mexico dropped 7 seconds off her usual time and grabbed the gold.

"I swam a time of 1:50.2, which is a lifetime best time for me (I dropped 3 seconds)," Angelelli said in an e-mail to friends and family. "So I feel good knowing that I gave it everything I could and I have no regrets. ... Also on a positive note, my first 50 split of the 100 was also a lifetime best time. I swim the 50 free on Sept. 15 and right now I am seeded fourth, but if I swim the time I did today, I have a chance of getting on the medal podium. Unfortunately, the girl from Mexico who beat me today is also swimming the 50 free. But it will be a new day and a new race."

Angelelli said she was nervous before her swim until she spotted her husband, Shawn Kornoelje, in the stands. "Then I knew I was going to be OK," she said. "After my race I went up into the spectator area to see him and show him the medal I had around my neck and as soon as I hit the general public area I was mobbed by Chinese people wanting their picture with me and my medal and asking for autographs."

Universal Sport TV is broadcasting the games and Angelelli's Sept. 15 race (the 50 meter free) will be broadcast live. For more information, go to paralympics.teamusa.org.

Good luck Cheryl!

Category: Paralympics

Athletes not the only ones excited for Beijing

The 2008 U.S. Paralympic Team roster features more than 200 athletes who will compete in 18 sports at the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games, which begin Sept. 6. Athletes range in age from 14-56 years old and come from 37 states. Check out the complete state-by-state roster..

If you want the ultimate lowdown on each athlete, you can view individual bios on the U.S. Paralympics Web site, too.

U.S. athletes and staff aren't the only people headed to Beijing next month. U.S. Paralympics is also bringing 25 student-athletes and 14 coaches/community leaders to experience the Paralympic Games as part of the Paralympic Academy in Beijing. These individuals were chosen based on the leadership they show in their communities, involvement in physical activity programs and an essay they submitted on the topic, "What Ability Means to Me."

Participants receive an all-expenses paid trip to the Paralympic Games and will meet U.S. athletes, see the competition live and attend either Opening or Closing Ceremonies. This isn't just the experience of a lifetime, but also an opportunity to see the impact a physically active lifestyle can have on a person with a physical disability.

Read more about my quest in the Disabilities blog.

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Category: Paralympics

All packed and ready to go!

Well, tomorrow the journey to the 2008 Beijing Paralympic Games begins. I will board a plane early tomorrow morning to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, where I will spend a few days training and going through team processing. All the Paralympic teams will be arriving into Colorado Springs for uniforms, photos and team briefings.

Saturday morning, the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team and Track and Field Team will board a plane for Okinawa, Japan, where both teams will train before the games that begin Sept. 6.

On Sept. 2, we will finally arrive in Beijing and check into the Olympic Village. Opening Ceremonies are on Sept. 6 and my best event is the following day. I'll swim the 100 meter freestyle on Sept. 7.

After watching all the exciting Olympic coverage this past week, I am excited and ready to go. I just wish I could take my dog with me.

Keep checking my blog for updates along the way.

Category: Paralympics

Iraq War amputee to compete in swim event at EMU

If you're looking for inspiration, here's an event you should consider this weekend: Members of the U.S. Paralympic Swim Team -- there's 38 in all -- will be in the pool at Eastern Michigan University, competing in the Greater Toledo Aquatic Club's Disability Open on Saturday and Sunday.

Clinton Township's Cheryl Angelelli, who earlier this month qualified for her third Paralympics, and 17-year-old Elizabeth Stone (Grand Rapids), will be there, too.

So will U.S. Army 1st Lt. Melissa Stockwell, the first female amputee of the Iraq War, who also qualified for the Beijing Paralympics. Four years ago, and just three weeks into her Iraq deployment, Stockwell lost her left leg when her Humvee was hit by a roadside bomb in the streets of Baghdad. But as she says now, she has done more without a leg than she ever did with two.

There will be two sessions Saturday (9-11:30 a.m. and 5-7:30 p.m.) and one Sunday (9-11:30 a.m.). Go check it out.