Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,160
- Reaction score
- 7
Trip is Golden for Swimmer- Columbian.com
One week in August changed Peggy Liang's outlook.
Traveling to a new land and coming home draped in gold will do that.
But for the Vancouver 14-year-old, last month's trip to Valencia, Venezuela, for the Pan Am Games for the Deaf was so much more than an opportunity to represent the United States in the pool.
It was a chance to discover new horizons.
"For Peggy, I think it opened a world of social awareness that she had gained while being a part of the USA Team," Team USA coach Kathy Sallade wrote in an e-mail. "Peggy has learned that she is not the only athlete who is deaf; that she can be the best in what she does."
At the Pan Am Games, Peggy won eight gold medals and set three meet records. But what surprised Peggy was the number of deaf athletes who traveled to Venezuela to compete and socialize.
Communicating through e-mails and by using sign language interpreted by her mother, Pearl, Peggy said she had not socialized much with other deaf people prior to the Games.
Sallade, a former deaf swimming world record holder in five events, coached the three-person Team USA at the Pan Am Games. She selected Peggy for the team based on times submitted to U.S. Deaf Swimming by Columbia River Swim Team coach Darlene Hill.
Based on those times, Sallade - a former Deaflympics record holder who has coached swimming for 30 years and is now the coach at the California School for the Deaf - knew Peggy could set records and win races at the Pan Am Games. The coach also knew the real impact of the Games for Peggy would happen outside of the pool.
Peggy certainly was among the best swimmers in Venezuela. Sallade, in fact, said she held Peggy out of some events, both to give her a break and to allow other swimmers the chance to win.
"I wanted to keep the Pan Am spirit alive," Sallade wrote.
The top deaf swimmers in the world competed this summer at the World Deaf Swimming Championships. Peggy was unaware U.S. Deaf Swimming or world championships existed, so she did not participate in the national qualifying meet for the world championships.
Swimmers who placed fourth, fifth or sixth at that qualifying meet, which was held in March, were eligible to swim at the Pan Am Games.
Sallade used e-mail in a national search for swimmers to represent the U.S. in Venezuela, and when she learned of Peggy's times was eager to have her on the team.
Peggy won most of her races by at least two body lengths. She set meet records in the 200-meter individual medley (2 minutes, 48.73 seconds), the 400 IM (5:54.8) and the 100 butterfly (1:13.06). Most of the records had stood since at least the early 1990s.
Peggy said the Pan Am Games for the Deaf, which included athletes from their teens into their 40s, opened her eyes to deaf culture. Peggy enjoyed the opening and closing ceremonies, and the team's day at the beach. Learning to sign in different languages also was fun.
So, of course, was the winning.
"I feel more motivated to swim for high school and later," wrote Peggy, who as a freshman will swim for Mountain View High School this fall. "I am more motivated to improve and to go faster."
She also is motivated to swim at the Deaflympics, next scheduled for Taipei in 2009.
Peggy started swimming with the Columbia River Swim Team, which competes in club meets, five years ago. Hill, her club swimming coach, said Peggy's sense of humor helps her quickly make friends with teammates and coaches - whether or not they know sign language.
"As a coach, it's been an outstanding experience" learning to communicate with Peggy and helping her grow as a competitor, Hill said.
Peggy tried volleyball and track and field, but found swimming the best fit for her skills and circumstances. She would like to encourage other deaf people to give the sport a chance.
"I think swimming is good for deaf people because (you are) able to focus on yourself," Peggy wrote.
The importance of focusing on self is one of the lessons of her Pan Am experience. To get faster, both Peggy and Hill said she needs to focus on her own times and goals, rather than measuring herself against teammates and opponents.
If Peggy stays focused, her outlook is bright, Sallade said.
"I do hope that she will continue to work harder and smarter and show the world (including her grandmother who lives in Taipei) that she is the best for the Deaflympics 2009," Sallade wrote.
"I am counting on Peggy to continue with hard work and determination. I know she can do better; she knows she can do better."
One week in August changed Peggy Liang's outlook.
Traveling to a new land and coming home draped in gold will do that.
But for the Vancouver 14-year-old, last month's trip to Valencia, Venezuela, for the Pan Am Games for the Deaf was so much more than an opportunity to represent the United States in the pool.
It was a chance to discover new horizons.
"For Peggy, I think it opened a world of social awareness that she had gained while being a part of the USA Team," Team USA coach Kathy Sallade wrote in an e-mail. "Peggy has learned that she is not the only athlete who is deaf; that she can be the best in what she does."
At the Pan Am Games, Peggy won eight gold medals and set three meet records. But what surprised Peggy was the number of deaf athletes who traveled to Venezuela to compete and socialize.
Communicating through e-mails and by using sign language interpreted by her mother, Pearl, Peggy said she had not socialized much with other deaf people prior to the Games.
Sallade, a former deaf swimming world record holder in five events, coached the three-person Team USA at the Pan Am Games. She selected Peggy for the team based on times submitted to U.S. Deaf Swimming by Columbia River Swim Team coach Darlene Hill.
Based on those times, Sallade - a former Deaflympics record holder who has coached swimming for 30 years and is now the coach at the California School for the Deaf - knew Peggy could set records and win races at the Pan Am Games. The coach also knew the real impact of the Games for Peggy would happen outside of the pool.
Peggy certainly was among the best swimmers in Venezuela. Sallade, in fact, said she held Peggy out of some events, both to give her a break and to allow other swimmers the chance to win.
"I wanted to keep the Pan Am spirit alive," Sallade wrote.
The top deaf swimmers in the world competed this summer at the World Deaf Swimming Championships. Peggy was unaware U.S. Deaf Swimming or world championships existed, so she did not participate in the national qualifying meet for the world championships.
Swimmers who placed fourth, fifth or sixth at that qualifying meet, which was held in March, were eligible to swim at the Pan Am Games.
Sallade used e-mail in a national search for swimmers to represent the U.S. in Venezuela, and when she learned of Peggy's times was eager to have her on the team.
Peggy won most of her races by at least two body lengths. She set meet records in the 200-meter individual medley (2 minutes, 48.73 seconds), the 400 IM (5:54.8) and the 100 butterfly (1:13.06). Most of the records had stood since at least the early 1990s.
Peggy said the Pan Am Games for the Deaf, which included athletes from their teens into their 40s, opened her eyes to deaf culture. Peggy enjoyed the opening and closing ceremonies, and the team's day at the beach. Learning to sign in different languages also was fun.
So, of course, was the winning.
"I feel more motivated to swim for high school and later," wrote Peggy, who as a freshman will swim for Mountain View High School this fall. "I am more motivated to improve and to go faster."
She also is motivated to swim at the Deaflympics, next scheduled for Taipei in 2009.
Peggy started swimming with the Columbia River Swim Team, which competes in club meets, five years ago. Hill, her club swimming coach, said Peggy's sense of humor helps her quickly make friends with teammates and coaches - whether or not they know sign language.
"As a coach, it's been an outstanding experience" learning to communicate with Peggy and helping her grow as a competitor, Hill said.
Peggy tried volleyball and track and field, but found swimming the best fit for her skills and circumstances. She would like to encourage other deaf people to give the sport a chance.
"I think swimming is good for deaf people because (you are) able to focus on yourself," Peggy wrote.
The importance of focusing on self is one of the lessons of her Pan Am experience. To get faster, both Peggy and Hill said she needs to focus on her own times and goals, rather than measuring herself against teammates and opponents.
If Peggy stays focused, her outlook is bright, Sallade said.
"I do hope that she will continue to work harder and smarter and show the world (including her grandmother who lives in Taipei) that she is the best for the Deaflympics 2009," Sallade wrote.
"I am counting on Peggy to continue with hard work and determination. I know she can do better; she knows she can do better."
