Sheila Holzworth (August 28, 1961 – March 29, 2013) was an American

para-alpine skier Paralympic alpine skiing is an adaptation of alpine skiing for athletes with a disability. The sport evolved from the efforts of disabled veterans in Germany and Austria during and after the Second World War. The sport is governed by the Internat ...

. After going blind at age ten, she went on to win two gold medals and a silver medal at the

1984 Winter Paralympics The 1984 Winter Paralympic Games (german: Paralympische Winterspiele 1984) were the third Winter Paralympics. They were held from 14 to 20 January 1984 in Innsbruck, Austria. They were the first Winter Games organized by the International Co-ord ...

as part of the United States delegation, among other achievements.

Biography

In 1981, the International Year of Disabled Persons, Holzworth was the first blind woman to climb

Mount Rainier Mount Rainier (), indigenously known as Tahoma, Tacoma, Tacobet, or təqʷubəʔ, is a large active stratovolcano in the Cascade Range of the Pacific Northwest, located in Mount Rainier National Park about south-southeast of Seattle. With a s ...

. She completed the climb as part of a team of people with disabilities. In 1982, she won a gold medal in the

giant slalom Giant slalom (GS) is an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline. It involves skiing between sets of poles ("gates") spaced at a greater distance from each other than in slalom but less than in Super-G. Giant slalom and slalom make up t ...

and silver in the

slalom To slalom is to zigzag between obstacles. It may refer to: Sports ;Alpine skiing and/or snowboarding * Slalom skiing, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Giant slalom, an alpine skiing and alpine snowboarding discipline * Super-G ...

at the national ski competition hosted by the United States Association of Blind Athletes. Holzworth won gold medals in two alpine skiing events, Women's Giant Slalom B1 and Women's Alpine Combination B1, at the 1984 Winter Paralympics. In addition, she won a silver medal in Women's Downhill B1. She also competed at the

1988 Winter Paralympics The 1988 Winter Paralympic Games (german: Paralympische Winterspiele 1988) were the fourth Winter Paralympics, held again in Innsbruck, Austria. These were the last Winter Paralympics to be held in a separate location from the Winter Olympics ...

. She competed and won medals in several other competitions, including the World Cup Championships of Winter Sports for the Disabled in Switzerland and the National Snow Ski Competition and American Blind Water Ski Championships in 1983, and the International Blind Water Ski Competition in Norway in 1984. She also set other records, including a world record in trick water skiing for the blind and disabled in 1989, and being the first sightless person to jump on water skis in the United States. She won the Ten Outstanding Young Americans award in 1989. She was invited to White House receptions at different times by Presidents

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...

and

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushSince around 2000, he has been usually called George H. W. Bush, Bush Senior, Bush 41 or Bush the Elder to distinguish him from his eldest son, George W. Bush, who served as the 43rd president from 2001 to 2009; pr ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Holzworth, Sheila American female alpine skiers Alpine skiers at the 1984 Winter Paralympics Paralympic silver medalists for the United States Paralympic alpine skiers for the United States Medalists at the 1984 Winter Paralympics Paralympic medalists in alpine skiing 1961 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American sportswomen