From the [UK] Times: ‘I don’t see myself as having a disability; This is just my life’

Helene Raynsford, 28, is training full-time for the Beijing Paralympics, where she will compete as a single sculls arms-only rower. A former student at the Royal Ballet School, Raynsford had an accident and no longer has the use of her legs. She likes proving that she can do things herself.

“I don’t know what I would have done if it hadn’t happened, but as a result I know I’ve learned so much about what life has to offer. I think that’s something for me to celebrate.”

From the Winston-Salem [NC] Journal: Wake Forest student to compete in Paralympics

Jamie Dean just completed the third of four years in a program that will grant him a law degree and an MBA. Dean, 26, is legally blind and will be rowing in the Beijing Paralympics. His wife Lauren says he is driven to succeed.

“He is so motivated in everything he does,” she said. “He is just very confident in who he is…. He is confident in his own identity. It doesn’t bother him that sometimes he gets credit only because he is a blind guy.”

This entry was posted on Monday, July 14th, 2008 at 7:18 am and is filed under Paralympics, blindness/visual impairments, wheelchair. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.  Email This Post