WHEELCHAIR DIVISION: BLAUWET LONGS FOR MORE, GETS IT PARAPLEGIC WINS WHEELCHAIR EVENT FOR WOMEN BY 11 MINUTES.Byline: Lauren Gustus Staff Writer Cheri Blauwet Cheri Blauwet is an American wheelchair racer, who competed at the Olympic level. At the 2004 Olympic Games, she finished 5th in the demonstration sport of Women's 800m wheelchair. She attends the Stanford University Medical School currently. , a paraplegic paraplegic /para·ple·gic/ (-ple´jik) 1. pertaining to or of the nature of paraplegia. 2. an individual with paraplegia. for 22 of her 23 years, used to be a sprinter. She did well in short events in college and international competition, finishing third in the 10,000 meters at the 2002 World Championships. She also won four medals at the Sydney Paralympics in 2000. But Blauwet decided she wanted a different challenge and switched to long-distance events in 2002. With a victory Sunday at the Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon is an annual marathon held in Los Angeles, California since 1986. It was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The race starts at about 8:15AM and runs through Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Crenshaw district, and in a personal-best 1 hour, 50 minutes, 6 seconds, Blauwet established herself as the most dominant women's wheelchair racer in the United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. since Jean Driscoll. Blauwet's time was 11 minutes ahead of second-place finisher Ariadne Hernandez of Mexico. ``I saw the opportunity,'' Blauwet said. ``There are a lot of marathons going on around the U.S. and there weren't any elite women doing this. I saw the opportunity to take over the field.'' Blauwet graduated from the University of Arizona (body, education) University of Arizona - The University was founded in 1885 as a Land Grant institution with a three-fold mission of teaching, research and public service. in December with a degree in molecular cell biology Cell biology The study of the activities, functions, properties, and structures of cells. Cells were discovered in the middle of the seventeenth century after the microscope was invented. and a 4.0 grade-point average. She will start at the Stanford School of Medicine in the fall. One of the reasons she went to Arizona was for the Wildcats' adaptive athletics program, which includes wheelchair racing Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs, typically by athletes who are unable to run. Like running, it can take place on a track or as a road race. The leading competitions take place at the Summer Paralympics, although it has been included as demostration sport in the . Blauwet grew up on a farm in Larchwood, Iowa Larchwood is a city in Lyon County, Iowa, United States. The population was 788 at the 2000 census. Geography Larchwood is located at (43.454351, -96.434897)GR1. , and suffered a spinal-cord injury when she was run over by a tractor when she was 1 year old. ``It was a really interesting situation because we lived in such a rural area and I grew up naturally integrating myself with all the other kids,'' Blauwet said. ``There were no other kids with wheelchairs around. ... I didn't realize I was different than other kids until quite a later point.'' --He's back: Saul Mendoza of Mexico won the men's wheelchair race in a course-record 1:27.07. Mendoza lost to Ernst Van Dyck of South Africa last year after winning the five previous L.A. Marathons, and he used the setback as motivation. Mendoza and Van Dyck used the drafting technique to conserve energy in the first 10 miles, and Mendoza pulled away midway through the course. ``The last couple of miles I was so tired,'' Mendoza said. ``Just to hear my name really, really helped be in the last five miles because I was pretty much dying.'' Van Dyck finished second in 1:29:29. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Cheri Blauwet won the women's wheelchair event Sunday in a personal best 1:50:06. Evan Yee/Staff Photographer |
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