Deaf Ironman Feature: DeafBlind Athlete and Guide
Renca Dunn, Daily Moth Reporter: The Ironman Triathlon is one of the most challenging sporting events in the world. For someone to participate in the race, you have to swim 2.4 miles, bike for 112 miles, and run for 26.2 miles and complete them all under 16 to 17 hours. We have noticed a growing number of Deaf people joining the Ironman Triathlon.
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You can participate in either half Ironman or the full Ironman. So we were curious to interview some of the Deaf Ironman athletes about their experiences and how the Deaf community can support these athletes.
There will be two parts to this. The first part is we will interview a DeafBlind Ironman athlete named Kathleen “Kathy” Borrone and one of her sighted and signing guides named Cheyenne Meyer. If you remember, the Daily Moth did a story on Kathy and her lawsuit against the Ironman corporation back in 2016 because they did not allow her to have the opposite gender as her sighted guide. The National Association of the Deaf helped her with the lawsuit process.
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Alex: But the triathlon organizations has now prohibited Kathleen from using this guide because of his gender — the rules now say the guide must be the same gender. Kathleen is suing because she says she does not know of any other signed guide who can both meet the physical requirements of the sport and also do tactile sign language. She said she is just asking for the opportunity to compete, that she has trained hard and is ready to prove herself.
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Renca: We have included a link to that video in 2016 in the transcript. We interviewed Kathy to see if any changes have been made with Ironman and her experience of what it is like to be a DeafBlind triathlete in Ironman.
Kathy: My name is Kathy Borrone and I’m from New Jersey. I am DeafBlind and I’ve worked in IT for over 30 years. I’m also a mother of two daughters, and I’ve loved swimming all my life.
Renca: Very cool. And Cheyenne, tell us your name and where you’re from.
Cheyenne: I’m Cheyenne Meyer and I live in Texas, close to Dallas in a town called McKinney. I’ve been a guide for six years and I’m an ASL student.
Renca: Cool!
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Kathy: Things are changing due to a recent lawsuit to have more accessibility for other blind and DeafBlind athletes to have guides of the same or different gender, whichever they prefer.
Renca: Yes. And how many Ironman races have you been in before?
Kathy: I’ve completed three full Ironman races, and about 13 half Ironman races.
Renca: Wow. And Cheyenne, how many Ironman races have you experienced as a guide?
Cheyenne: No full Ironman races, and five half Ironman races as a guide.
Renca: Kathy, what made you want to get involved in Ironman?
Kathy: I grew up swimming all the way until I graduated from college. At that point, I stopped swimming for almost 20 years. I found myself desperate to get active again so I decided to join a Masters Swim Team. Then, things changed and I became a triathlete. I trained my way up to complete a full Ironman.
Renca: I’m curious Kathy, while training for an Ironman, how long is the training? Is it every day?
Kathy: I’ll train for about 10-15 hours every week. I get up early in the mornings and join my swimming group, then I join my running club, and it goes like that every morning. Sometimes at night and on weekends too.
Renca: Gotcha. So when it comes to your process Kathy, as a DeafBlind triathlete what is that like? Are you always next to someone, and how does that work with swimming, do you have a guide then? What about while bicycling? How does it work?
Kathy: In the very beginning with the first Ironman, my vision could serve me pretty well with a guide who was wearing a different color, like if they were wearing a pink cap while everyone else was wearing green. This made my guide easy to spot while swimming. And of course our tandem bike.
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While running, we would run side by side.
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Then as I lost more of my vision, we added a leg tether to connect us together while swimming. That way I wouldn’t lose my guide. The tandem bike is the same, and then for running we use a hand tether where we each hold two ends of the tether and run side by side.
Renca: Wow. Are any other DeafBlind triathletes like you? Is it just you as a DeafBlind triathlete?
Kathy: Oh, I’m sure there are more DeafBlind athletes out there, there must be a few.
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Renca: What’s your advice for DeafBlind people who may want to get involved with triathlons?
Kathy: I encourage more DeafBlind and blind athletes to join in. You can compete in an Ironman. If you have a disability, there is nothing wrong with that. Of course, you can come to compete, it can open up your mind and your world.
Renca: Now I’d like to ask Cheyenne a question related to being a guide.
Cheyenne: Sure.
Renca: Cheyenne, do you train on the same schedule as the person you are guiding? Or is it a different schedule? I’m curious if there are similarities.
Cheyenne: Sometimes it’s the same. I train six days a week with one rest day. So similar to Kathy, I bike three times a week, run three times a week, and swim two times a week. I lift weights one to two times a week.
Renca: Okay, and how did you learn that you wanted to get involved as a guide?
Cheyenne: Many years ago, I saw a blind man competing. I thought that was cool and I wanted to try, so I met with the man and tried to guide him for the first time. I really enjoyed it and I like helping people in general. If someone wants to finish a race, I want to help them do that, so I tried being a guide. I enjoy it and even like it better than competing on my own, I feel like that’s boring! Guiding is more fun for me.
Thank you, Kathy and Cheyenne, for your time. This is part 1; please check out part 2 of the interview with the other Deaf Ironman athletes and their experiences.
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