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Racing around the world
11/2/2011 11:27:58 AM
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By Tammy Kimberley
Splash Staff Writer
Profiles:
Amberlynn Weber
Earlier this year, while competing in the 2011 International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics World Championships in New Zealand, Amberlynn Weber wasn't expected to make it to the finals in her races. Despite not being ranked in the 400 meters, she finished in sixth place and scored a personal best.
It's not the first time Weber has defied the odds. When she was 6 months old, she was diagnosed with a form of cancer that typically shuts down vital organs. In her case, the cancer attacked her spine, leaving her with limited use of her legs but with her life.
Now Weber is among a group of elite wheelchair athletes in the world. Last summer, she was one of eight women selected internationally to compete in an 800-meter exhibition race at the able-bodied track and field world championships in Korea. And she is preparing for the Pan-American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico, later this month, where she hopes to earn a time good enough to represent Team USA in the Paralympics next summer in London. Advertisement
The Splash recently met with Weber to hear more about her travels to compete as a para-athlete and her hopes to bring home the gold.
Q: How did you qualify for the Pan-American games?
A: The team was selected by the U.S. Paralympic Committee. There are standards you have to meet based on percentages of how close you are to the world record.
Q: What are you most looking forward to in this competition?
A: The competition is Nov. 13-18, so we'll be gone for around 10 days. I plan on medaling in all my races - that's my goal. I'm hoping to get a standard to qualify for London. I really want to win a medal, preferably a gold.
Q: This isn't the first international competition you've participated in. Where all have you gone to race?
A: There have been a lot more races this year. Just since January, I've been to the world races (New Zealand), nationals (Florida), the Boiling Point Wheelchair Track Classic (Canada), the Dogwood Track and Field Meet (Canada) and Korea. We went to California for a big college meet where we did an exhibition race, and then we're headed to Mexico in a couple weeks.
Q: What races do you compete in?
A: When I first started on the St. Luke's team, I did pretty much every sport available. I competed in everything from 100 to 5,000 meters as well as the shot put, discus and javelin. I also did table tennis, archery and 3-on-3 basketball. But now I only do the 100, 200, 400 and 800 meter races. Racers are grouped by age and classification.
Q: Is there a distance you enjoy most?
A: I'm really good at the 400. My best time is 59.65 (seconds). The IPC has their own standards, which are actually lower than the American standards (to qualify for the team). To put it in perspective, the lowest national standard is 58 seconds, so I'm about a second and a half off in the 400.
But I did really well on the 800 in Korea with a time of 1:55.43. I'm only .43 seconds off the standard in the 800. I have to reach it prior to the committee deciding the team for London, which should be in June.
Q: Is it true you've been on the St. Luke's team since you were 7 years old?
A: When I was younger, St. Luke's and Shriners offered something called "Sports Day," where they gave people with disabilities a chance to try sports. Teresa Skinner, who is my coach, works very hard to get anyone with a limp or in a wheelchair involved with something. Apparently she worked on my parents for months before she talked them into taking me to a practice. I started with basketball and then tried track and stuck with it.
A lot of people feel bad for me, but I never walked so it has never bothered me much. I was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma (a form of cancer) when I was 6 months old. It normally attacks your vital organs, but it attacked my spine. That was actually a good thing because otherwise I wouldn't be here.
Q: Do you have to cover your costs of traveling to competitions?
A: We fundraise and we budget for those. St. Luke's Rehab is the main people we go through. They pay for part of our airfare and hotel stays, but there are parts we are supposed to pitch in. We do a pushathon where we get sponsors and then go around track to see how many laps we can get. This last year we sent out letters to family members and friends. We sell coffee. My coach's brother does organic coffee so we do a booth at Bloomsday where we sell our own special blend with our faces on it.
Q: What's your training schedule like?
A: I train six days a week for around two hours, and we usually get Sundays off. Certain days we do two-a-days. I go to the gym at Anytime Fitness in Liberty Lake.
People donate space for our team to use. We switch between West Valley High School and Spokane Falls Community College. We swim at Whitworth College.
Q: How would you describe your relationships with your teammates?
A: We're like brothers and sisters pretty much. One of my best friends, Chelsea McClammer, is on the team so we go to a lot of the elite meets together. People call us the Bobbsey Twins. She lives in Richland, but she tries to come up here once a week to train with us.
Austin Pruitt (another CV student and para-athlete) and I have trained together since ninth grade. We carpool to practices some since we live 5 minutes from each other. For school track, it's easier because he and I can work together after school.
Q: What has been your proudest moment in racing so far?
A: Probably being selected to go to Korea. I didn't apply to go; they asked for me. That was amazing. The IPC decided to do two exhibition races in Korea at the world track and field championships, so I was one of eight girls selected to go and compete in the 800-meter race. I was very excited. I couldn't believe they asked me.
Q: What was it like to complete there?
A: Korea was the most amazing experience in my life. No Paralympic track meet could compare to an able-bodied track meet. We got to compete in a stadium instead of a track in the middle of nowhere. You're under the lights and there are thousands of people cheering for you, even though they don't know who you are. When I went in the stands later that night in my Team USA uniform, people came up and asked for my autograph.
Not very many people know about Paralympics. People don't understand how elite it is, the caliber of the competition. They think it's like the Special Olympics, but it's not. A lot of people are jealous of my opportunities, but I don't think my training or anything is different (from able-bodied athletes). We're working just as hard or harder than anyone else out there.
Q: What are your ambitions for the future?
A: There are two universities that have wheelchair track programs, so I'm probably going to University of Illinois. After getting my bachelors degree in the school of media there, I might go to a specialty school in California. I think I would enjoy doing something in the music field. I would like to either be a producer at a record label or work at a radio station as a DJ.
But first I want to make the 2012 Paralympic team and medal in London. That would be awesome.
Profiles:
Amberlynn Weber
Age
18
Family
Parents, James Weber, Jamie Weber and Scott Henri; brother, Colton Weber
School
Central Valley High School senior involved in track and DECA
Interests
Racing, music, playing guitar
Favorite band
Down with Webster
Quote on race chair
"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the gift." - Steve Prefontaine
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