SPORTS 'N SPOKES

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Paralympic Exuberance

The Paralympic Winter Games comes only every four years. This year's athletes took full advantage of their moments to shine.

During the 2010 Winter Paralympic Games Opening Ceremonies, approximately 60,000 spectators thundered their applause for 600 elite athletes representing 44 countries. The event took place March 12-21 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Over the nine days, the U.S. hockey team beat Japan for the gold after the expected contender, Canada, fell to the same Japanese team; Russia dominated cross-country skiing, winning 22 of 38 medals; and New Zealand, one of the few countries from the southern hemisphere, won gold in men's slalom.

The spectacular Opening Ceremonies, attended by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, set the stage for the thrilling 10th Winter Paralympic Games. U.S. alpine skier Heath Calhoun, an Iraqi war veteran, was flagbearer for Team USA.

"Just being part of Team USA is a huge honor, so being selected from this talented group of athletes is something I'm proud of," said Calhoun. "It's surprising, but I'm very grateful."

The ceremony also featured six extreme athletes with physical disabilities, including Aaron Fotheringham, performing tricks on bikes and in wheelchairs.

"I really have to say the half pipe with the bikes and the wheelchair made it for me for sure," said the U.S.'s Monica Bascio.

Sled Hockey

Sled hockey and curling competitions were round robins. Several sessions took place over five days, leading to a semifinal and final championship. Sled hockey is a wild sport, with speeding sleds, swarming players, and mass crashes, much like the able-bodied game. Athletes use sleds, which to the untrained eye look like skateboards on hockey skates. They fly from one end of the ice rink to the other, as the players fling themselves with sticks, which they deftly handle. One moment the sticks are propellers, the next they're hockey sticks slamming the puck.

The U.S. Sled Hockey Team became the first-ever squad to win a second sled hockey Paralympic gold medal, taking all five of its games without surrendering a single goal. Entering the tournament as the top seed, the U.S. swept through preliminary-round opponents South Korea, the Czech Republic, and Japan, by a combined score of 14-0. By earning Group A's number-one slot, the  U.S. set up a semifinal matchup against Norway.

The U.S. and Norway previously met in the semifinals of the 2006 Paralympics in Torino, Italy, with Norway taking the victory, 4-2, and forcing the Americans to settle for bronze. This year, Team USA avenged its loss and blanked Norway, 3-0, to punch its ticket to the gold-medal contest. The Americans faced Japan, an unlikely foe, in their final game.

Japan's upset of Canada in the semifinals was one of the greatest surprises of the Games. They eliminated the hometown heroes, 3-1, to advance to their first-ever Winter Games gold-medal game.

Despite falling to the Americans in the preliminary round, Japan proved a tough challenge in the teams' second encounter. But the U.S. defense and goaltending stood strong, helping the team emerge with a 2-0 win and the tournament's top prize. The U.S.'s Taylor Chace was named top defenseman, while Steve Cash was top goaltender.

"I could not be more proud," said U.S. Paralympic Sled Hockey Coach Ray Maluta. "These guys have grown as athletes, players, and men, and I'm lucky to have been part of this ride."

While all the hockey athletes played skillfully with speed and power, Cash did not allow a single goal to enter the U.S. net over the entire competition. Cash, 20, a student at the University of Missouri-St. Louis, became a hero overnight.

Cash developed cancer as a baby, and at age 3 his leg was amputated below his right knee. He was named 2009 Paralympic Sportsman of the Year and has coached at USA Hockey Sled Hockey Player Development Camps in 2007 and 2008.

Cash says his parents were always by his side through his years of treatments and surgeries.

"They have shown me that every person has flaws; all that matters is how you turn those weaknesses into strengths."

Check out the complete article in the May 2010 S'NS.

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