Even though Robin Theryoung is legally blind, the glint of the silver medal she won in Athens, Greece playing in the Paralympics for the US women’s goalball team will always shine brightly in her life.
‘It’s awesome to be able to compete at the highest level,? said Theryoung. ‘I loved playing with the team and having the comradery and feeling the adrenaline from playing.?
Theryoung has had a B-3 visual impairment since birth due to a condition called congenital albinism. Her vision could best be described as blurry.
How well Theryoung sees is of no consequence in goalball. Players wear blindfolds during play, and have to key off the rattling bells inside the hard hollow plastice ball as it is thrown at speeds of 30 mph and up.
?(Goalball) was created specifically for blind and visually impaired people, we don’t have an able-bodied counterpart,? said Theryoung.
Robin and three other members of the US women’s goalball team have lived in the Olympic training village since January in order to hone their skills. Goalball is the first disabled team sport to gain residency at the Olympic training village in Colorado Springs. The team arrived in Athens nine days before the Paralympic games.
‘Our days were pretty much spent practicing, training and resting for the games ahead,? said Theryoung.
The paralympics opened on a sour note for the team as they lost the first game of the round robin to Canada. The team bounced back from the loss though and won their next six straight. In the semi-final matchup the US beat Japan to advance to the gold medal game, but were stymied once again by Canada.
‘We knew going in we kind of had a target on our backs … at that point we were the reigning world champs,? said Theryoung.
Although she and her teammates are dissappointed that they did not win the gold medal, they feel blessed by the experience and the silver medals they received. Robin was also able to take some time to vacation in the Greek Isles, and upon her return the team was invited to Washington D.C.
‘It was an honor to be invited to the Whitehouse,? said Theryoung. ‘Right now we are in a rest and recovery phase.?
The team will compete in the 2005 Pan-Am Games in Sao Paolo Brazil and the Sweden Cup held in Malmo where the US will get another shot at the Canadians.
I hope we can bounce back from our loss to Canada and reclaim our dominance,? said Theryoung.
Robin was introduced to Goalball at a Western Michigan University camp. She freely admits her play was not spectacular at first, but through hard work, perserverance and faith she was able to hone her skills to a world class level.
‘Sports was something I did not think would be a part of my life, so I was immediately hooked,? said Theryoung. ‘Goalball was like nothing I had ever seen or played because vision loss was not an issue.?
Robin has been a member of several different US national teams since 1996. She was a member of the U.S.A Blind Athletes gold medal team in 2003 and won gold in the 2002 world championships in Brazil and a bronze medal in 2001 at the Sweden Cup.
For now Theryoung is going to take it easy while she works on a masters at Western Michigan in orientation and mobility. She already has a masters in blind rehabilation from Western.