A pair of LDS athletes enjoyed Midas-like success in the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing, China — earning gold medals in high-profile track events.
Jason Smyth, a member of the Londonderry Branch, Belfast Northern Ireland Stake, swept the 100- and 200-meter sprint events, setting world records in both events in his respective competition category.
In the Paralympics, he competed against fellow athletes with visual impairment.
"This is what the whole year (of training) has been about, right for this moment and this success," said Brother Smyth in an article posted on athleticsireland.ie/content. "It went all to plan and it's such a relief."
Brother Smyth has Stargardt's disease, a hereditary condition that has destroyed his peripheral vision. He was unable to serve a mission because of his disability, but he has tried to be an ambassador for the Church through his example and gospel living, according to a November, 2007, New Era article.
"I now have an opportunity to be a missionary in a different way — through sprinting," Brother Smyth told the magazine.
He reportedly hopes to be able to compete in the 2012 Olympic Games in London against able-bodied sprinters.
Church member Jeff Skiba of Sammamish, Wash., claimed Paralympic gold for Team USA in the high jump, setting a world record in the event.
He cleared 6 feet, 11 inches, surpassing his own previous record, according to the Seattle Times. He is a two-time defending world champion and won the silver medal at the 2004 Paralympics.
Brother Skiba — a below-the-knee amputee — is a member of the U.S. Paralympic Resident Athlete Program at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif.
Two other LDS Paralympians from the United States, archer Eric Bennett and goalballer Chris Dodds, also competed in Beijing (see Sept. 6, 2008, Church News, p. 5). Brother Bennett was unable to qualify for the medal round, while Brother Dodds' squad finished fourth.
E-mail to: jswensen@desnews.com
