NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Paralympics Bring Opportunity for Champion Cycler

By Paul Levitan

Greta Neimanas was born without an arm below her elbow but that hasn't stopped her from excelling in sports. After only four years of involvement in cycling, Neimanas is representing the United States in the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

In 2004, Neimanas attended the Athens Paralympics with the Paralympic Academy, a program that takes disabled athletes to the games. It was a prize trip for her winning essay "What Ability Means to Me."

"I saw firsthand Paralympic sports, and track cycling was one of the first events that we saw," Neimanas said. "So I went home, found a local club, tried it and got hooked, and everything started taking off from there."

According to an article about Neimanas from the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, prosthetics experts "designed an artificial arm with a universal joint that would snap into her handlebars and would help provide stability and motion control." The institute has worked with Neimanas since she was 3 years old, helping her adjust to various prosthetic arms.

Neimanas credits her success to hard work. "You can do whatever you want, as long as you work hard," she said. "I'm not necessarily the most naturally gifted athlete or the most naturally gifted cyclist, but if you want to do something and you work hard enough at it, you'll find a way to do it."

Blogging on her Web site while in Beijing, Neimanas said the September 7 Paralympic opening ceremonies were "spectacular" and that "walking into a stadium packed with over 90,000 people is mind blowing."

America.gov interviewed Neimanas before she left for the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing.

What made you interested in competing in the Paralympics?

I've always been involved in sport of some type, not necessarily a Paralympic sport. It was my goal to go to the Paralympics, I just didn't play a Paralympic sport; I grew up playing soccer [football], and they don't have amputee soccer yet. So I guess you could say I was in the market for a sport. I actually went to Athens in 2004 with the Paralympic Academy, which is a program that takes disabled athletes to the games and other competitions at the national level, and we saw firsthand Paralympic sports, and track cycling was one of the first events that we saw. So I went home, found a local club, tried it and got hooked, and everything started taking off from there.

What are some challenges you faced while training for the Paralympics?

We all train just as hard as the Olympians and the training is hard, but your body gets used to the physical stress and demands that you put on it every day. But I think the hardest part for me is just mentally staying focused. Now it's a little bit easier. Since I know I'm going to the games, I have that goal in sight or within reach, so it makes that a little bit easier, but mental focus for me is the hardest thing.

How has your Paralympic experience prepared you for the rest of your life?

I'm slowly going through school and starting to think about what I want to do for a career and I definitely want to stay involved in cycling ... whether coaching, or sport management, or development. I'd love to ... get more disabled athletes into sports and into the Paralympic-level sports.

One of the things that I try and do is just be a good role model, encouraging kids when you're out playing baseball or basketball that they can do it, even if it's hard for them. Just push through it and keep working at it because one day ... you might not think that you could shoot a three-pointer on a basketball court, but if you keep working at it and set goals for yourself, you can do whatever you want.

Any advice for future Paralympians?

I would say [don't] get stressed out. At the end of the day, it's really just another bike race or it's just another soccer game or swim meet.

You can do whatever you want, as long as you work hard. That's how I got to where I am today. I'm not necessarily the most naturally gifted athlete or the most naturally gifted cyclist, but if you want to do something and you work hard enough at it, you'll find a way to do it.

To learn more about the Paralympics, see "2008 Paralympic Games to Begin in Beijing ( http://www.america.gov/st/sports-english/2008/September/20080905162305maduobbA0.8126947.html?CP.rss=true )."
Source: U.S. Department of State