The Roving Reporter
If Ilinois were a country...
Posted by: Amy Reiter
Monday, September 8, 2008 11:18 AM
A second complete interview from the 2008 Paralympics in Beijing....
Below, racer Jessica Galli talks about starting her third Paralympics, UI camaraderie
and the spirit of friendly competition.
News-Gazette: When did you find out you would go to the Paralympic Games?
Jessica Galli: Our trials were held the second weekend in June in Tempe, AZ. We competed at trials
Friday, Saturday and Sunday and then on Sunday evening, the team was announced.
NG: Have you been before?
JG: Yes, this is my third Paralympic Games. I competed in 2000 in Sydney, Australia at
the age of 16 and in 2004 in Athens, Greece at the age of 20.
NG: How did you train for them?
JG: I moved out to Illinois in the Fall of 2002 to attend the University - I am
originally from Hillsborough, N.J. In 2006, I graduated from undergrad but decided to
re-enroll as a graduate student so that I could continue to train with the
University's wheelchair track & road racing team.
The team trains six days a week: Monday - Saturday. There are about 10 people on the
team, five of which are here in Beijing. The best part about being at Illinois is that
we have such a strong team of athletes. And Adam Bleakney, our coach, is amazing! We
motivate each other every day in practice to become faster and stronger and I think
it shows in our competition.
NG: How does it feel to have so many University of Illinois-affiliated people at the
Games?
JG: It is awesome! At each Paralympic Games, I am blown away by the number of current or
former Illini that are represented. In 2004, we all joked that if Illinois had been
its own country, we would have ranked really well in the medal count! Illinois has a
rich history within disabled sports and I think our tradition of pursuing excellence
is evident in the number of individuals we send to the Paralympic Games.
NG: When did you arrive? Have you gotten to see much of Beijing?
JG: The track and field team as well as the swimming team had the opportunity to head
over to Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan prior to traveling to Beijing.
Thanks to efforts by the US Department of Defense, both teams were flow on a
chartered airline flight direct from Colorado Springs to Japan! We arrived in Japan
on Aug. 24 and spent about a week on the island training and acclimating
ourselves to the time difference and weather. On Sept. 2, we were chartered
from Japan to Beijing and we moved into the Paralympic Village.
I haven't had an opportunity to see much outside of the Village thus far. However,
today (Friday here in China) we will be taking a team trip to the Great Wall. In
May, I had the chance to compete in the National Stadium here in Beijing along with
my teammate Josh George, at a test event hosted by the organizing committee. While
here in May I was able to explore the city a little but I'm hoping that during the
next two weeks I'll get to see a lot more!
NG: What do you think of the facilities?
JG: This is the best Athlete Village I have lived in thus far. Having had the chance to
race in the National Stadium already, I am really excited for competition to begin.
The track is going to be fast!
NG: Besides winning, do you have any personal goals for the Games?
JG: The Games offer so much more than competition. It is a time to meet people from
around the world and to watch some of the greatest athletes compete. Although my
main focus while here in Beijing is on my competition, I am looking forward to
forming friendships with both my USA teammates and other athletes from around the
world.
NG: At what day and time will you compete?
JG: I will be racing in five individual events and a team relay. My events are the 100m,
200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, and the 4x100m relay. My classification is a T53, which
means that I am a high level paraplegic. In the 100m - 800m, I compete with other
T53 women. However, the 1500m is an open event, which means that I compete against
T53 and T54 women (T54 women are lower level paraplegics and amputees).
My racing schedule can be found on my website (www.jessicagalli.com) on the calendar.
Look for another interview from the Beijing front on Tuesday.
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