ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, September 1, 1996 TAG: 9609030068
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
STEVE AUKWARD of Roanoke has been blind for 30 years. He was one of the U.S. team's cyclists at the Paralympic Games last month in Atlanta.
Roanoker Steve Aukward didn't bring back any medals from the Paralympic Games in Atlanta, though he did achieve a personal best in his tandem cycling events.
Instead, the 47-year-old blind member of the U.S. team of disabled cyclists brought back the spirit of 3,500 athletes, all of whom have had to overcome a physical disability to reach their level of competition.
Aukward, regional manager of the Virginia Department for the Visually Handicapped, wants to share that spirit with others who are visually handicapped. And he hopes to create opportunities for other blind athletes to accomplish what he has.
"There are disabilities, but you can overcome those disabilities and live a rich life." he said. "That's really the message of the Games."
When he was 17, Aukward was diagnosed with an eye disease that eventually caused him to lose his sight. But he maintained his love for competition despite his blindness.
He lifted weights competitively in college and he has been an avid swimmer through most of his adult life.
Two years ago, he teamed up with Roanoke Assistant City Manager Jim Ritchie on a tandem, or two-seat, bicycle. He caught on quickly, competing in local races at first, then competing this spring in the national track cycling championships in Pennsylvania. There he qualified for the U.S. disabled cycling team as a representative of the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes.
The 1996 Paralympic Games were held in Atlanta August 16-25. Disabled athletes from 127 countries competed in 17 sports in many of the same venues in which the Olympic Games had been held two weeks earlier.
Aukward and his pilot, Greg Combs of Colorado, raced on their tandem in velodrome and road events. A velodrome is a cycling track.
They finished 20th out of 26 cyclists in the 120 kilometer road race and came in last of 16 cyclists in the 200 meter velodrome sprint. But the 2:47:02 time in the road event and the 12.903-second finish in the velodrome sprint were the fastest in Aukward's two-year cycling career.
Aukward, his wife, Judy, and his two daughters, Erin, 13, and Caitlin, 12, returned to Roanoke on Monday, the day after closing ceremonies in Atlanta.
He was welcomed at the airport by members of the Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, who raised more than $1,500 for his venture.
Wednesday, Aukward returned to his office in the Commonwealth Building in downtown Roanoke. He wore the red, white and blue shirt all U.S. athletes wore in the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. And he brought in a hat studded with the pins that were popular trading items among the athletes. He had traded for an Italian and German pin, among others.
Stories about the games were fodder for the office water cooler all day.
Aukward didn't mind sharing his stories: the feeling he had when walking into Olympic Stadium during opening ceremonies with close to 80,000 fans cheering; the emotional speech given by paralyzed actor Christopher Reeve at the opening ceremonies; the pride Aukward had from representing his country in an American uniform.
But the message Aukward most wants to share is not of his personal accomplishments.
"I hope it gets across the message that a disability does not mean the inability to do something," he said.
Athletes with a wide variety of disabilities competed in the games. Some suffered from cerebral palsy, while others may have lost a limb or been born without them.
Just being around those athletes was inspiring, Aukward said.
"It was a celebration of all their efforts as a whole," he said. "It kind of helps restore your faith in the triumph of the human spirit."
Aukward is in a good position to get his message across: his job is to help people adjust to visual handicaps and to live independent lives despite their blindness.
Aukward wants to continue working with the U.S. Association of Blind Athletes, of which he remains a member.
"We want to identify other blind athletes who would be able to compete in future events," he said. "We also need to work to develop better corporate sponsors and different funding sources."
Through the Roanoke-based Blue Ridge Bicycle Club, he will continue to develop a program for pairing sighted cyclists with blind cyclists on tandems. The club currently has several members who own tandems.
Aukward won't rule out the possibility of another shot at the Paralympics in 2000. He'll be 51 then.
But he would really like to help other blind athletes get to the Paralympics.
"I would love to help inspire other athletes to achieve that level," Aukward said.
"I'm not assuming these individuals would go to the competitive level I've achieved. The level they take it to - that's up to them."
LENGTH: Medium: 94 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Steve Aukward's family, Caitlinby CNB(sitting), 12; Erin, 13; and Judy, all attended the Paralympics in
Atlanta to lend their support. color.