Sponsored Links








Add to Technorati Favorites

Rachael Scdoris the Blind Sled Dog Racer

Tuesday, December 07, 2004

Rachael ScdorisNot only is Rachael Scdoris the youngest person ever to complete a 500-mile sled dog race, she's also legally blind. She has a rare disease (congenital achromatopsia) making her nearsighted, farsighted and colorblind.

Rachael was also twice honored as one of the 100 Most Outstanding Female Athletes in the nation. This March, she will also become the first blind athlete to compete in the Alaska Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, the world's premiere long distance sled dog race.

You can learn more about her through a new website, created by her sponsor, Standard Insurance Co: http://www.gorachaelgo.com/.

She can only see the last three pairs of dogs on her 16-dog team, and that's on a good day. When light is bad, she can barely make out her closest dogs. At night she can make out the shape of her leaders and see harness reflectors in her headlight beams. For the Iditaraod race, she will be relying on a visual interpreter, that is, another person, to help guide her through.

4 Comments:

  • Houndreds of dogs never make it to the finish line at these long distance sled races. They die from the extream cold...and literally being run to death. Theses races should be banned...and the people who force dogs to risk their lives just to win a stupid race should be punished.

    By Blogger Vegan, at 10:47 AM, December 14, 2004  

  • Vegan is so wrong, sled dogs are the best cared for animals on the planet. Rachael Scdoris's team is the perfect example of the best of the best. Vegan you should work on your spelling too.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:35 AM, April 01, 2005  

  • My aunt had a really nice husky, she went for a walk with the dog in the park in Chicago where she lives. The dog had a heart attack and died on the spot, perhaps we should outlaw walking out dogs in the park and she should be punished for walking her dog!!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 8:39 AM, April 01, 2005  

  • During the 2005 'IKILLEDADOG' annual bout of Alaskan idiocy, I saw a clip of Rachael Scdoris on ABC News awarding her the title of 'Person of the Week'. After watching the usual fawning media crap about the Iditarod, did anyone else notice that as she mushed off into the sunset, a dog was being dragged along the snow in its harness? (I don't think Ms. Scdoris noticed). What a bunch of idiots you people are who support cruel races like the Iditarod and the Yukon Quest!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:28 PM, September 29, 2005  

Post a Comment
Back to Homepage