by Lacey Markle
The 2012 London Paralympic Games marked the 14th edition of the games, and was the largest Paralympic Games in history, with an estimated 4,200 participating athletes from 165 countries. Team USA finished with 98 medals (31 gold, 29 silver and 38 bronze).
Congratulations to all of our 227 athletes for a great Paralympic Games! Here are the results for Team USA athletes who are blind and visually impaired. To look up other results, visit www.paralympic.org.
Sailing
JP Creignou and Jen French (two-person keelboat) raced in 10 events and never finished below fifth place. This hard work and determination led them to the silver medal!
Rowing
Andrew Johnson and Eleni Englert were a part of the mixed coxed four – LTAMix4+ team that won in repechage, which placed them into the final A group. At the end of the final race, Team USA came in 6th overall.
Goalball
USA women's goalball had its share of ups and downs in London. The ladies won against Sweden 5-1, lost to Japan 2-1, beat Australia 3-0 and lost against Canada 1-0. They then took on China – and lost 5-0. The team took 8th place overall.
Swimming
Tucker Dupree took fifth in the 400m freestyle and fourth in 100m butterfly. He won a bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, silver in the 100m backstroke and bronze in the 50m freestyle.
Brad Snyder set a Paralympic record with a time of 57.18 seconds in the preliminaries for the 100m freestyle and ended up winning the gold medal in this event. He also took home silver in the 50m freestyle. He placed eighth in the 100m backstroke, sixth in the 100m breaststroke, fourth in the 100m butterfly and sixth in the 200m individual medley. And in the 400m freestyle, he won the gold medal!
Kelley Becherer won the gold medal in the 50m freestyle. She also won gold in the 100m freestyle. In the 200m individual medley she took the bronze medal, and won another bronze in the 100m breaststroke.
Rebecca Anne Meyers took fourth in the 50m freestyle. She brought home the bronze medal in the 100m freestyle, and silver in the 200m individual medley. In the 100m breaststroke, Rebecca finished fifth in her heat.
Colleen Young came in sixth place in her heat for the 50m freestyle, fifth in her heat for the 100m freestyle. She also took fifth in the 100m breaststroke and seventh in the 200m individual medley.
Letticia Martinez took sixth in her heat in the 100m backstroke, eighth in the 100m breaststroke and third in her heat in the 200m individual medley.
Judo
Ron Hawthorne took seventh in the 60kg weight class.
Cindy Simon came in fifth in the 57kg weight class.
Cristella Garcia (70kg) and Katie Davis (70+ kg) made it to quarterfinals.
Dartanyon Crockett won the bronze medal in the men's 90kg.
Myles Porter took the silver medal in the men's 100kg.
Road/Track Cycling
In track cycling, Clark Rachfal and his pilot Dave Swanson took sixth in the individual pursuit and seventh in the individual 1km time trial. They also competed in road cycling, where they finished eighth in the time trial and 10th in the road race.
Athletics
Markeith Price took eighth in the 400m, sixth in the long jump, and fifth in his heat for the 200m.
In the 100m, Josiah Jamison and his guide Jermone Avery placed fourth in their heat. They also finished second in their heat for the 200m, which qualified them for semifinals. During semifinals, Josiah and Jermone were disqualified and did not advance to the finals.
Lex Gillette won the silver medal in the long jump. He also finished fourth in the triple jump with a distance of 12.39m. Lex and his guide Wesley Williams took third in their heat for the 200m. In the 100m, they placed third in their heat.
Tanner Gers took 11th place in the long jump.
David Brown and his guide Rolland Slade took second in their heat for the 200m. In the 100m, they finished second in their heat, and placed third in the semifinals.
Hall of Fame
The United States Association of Blind Athletes (USABA) would also like to extend a huge congratulation to Trischa Zorn! The most decorated Paralympian ever was inducted into the Paralympic Hall of Fame in London. She competed as a member of the USA swim team from 1980-2000. In seven games, she won a staggering 55 medals, including 41 gold, 9 silver and 5 bronze. Trischa held many world records during her career, two of which still stand today!
To relive your favorite moments from the 2012 London Paralympic Games, visit www.youtube.com/usparalympics/.