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2002 Youth PANAMDES Report
2nd Youth PANAMDES
Barquisimeto, Venezuela
August 16 - 22, 2002
The USA Team was established after a screening process from 4 Family Track and Field Games (FTFG) meets. A team of 12 athletes, 1 coach, 1 trainer and 1 delegate were selected. However, 4 of the athletes were unable to join the team. The trip would not have been made possible if it were not for the grant from USOC and USADSF and donations from Adidas and Shoes for Austin.
The roster is as following:
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Malibu Barron (MD)
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Rachel Benedict (MD)
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Wesley Diaz (TX)
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Michelle Gitermann (TX)
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Shana Lehmann (MD)
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Scott Lehmann (MD)
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Gabriel Paulone (IND)
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Micaela Paulone (IND)
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Jesse Bailey, Coach (TX)
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Billie Ketter, Trainer/Chaperone (TX)
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Thomas Withrow, Delegate (MD)
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Only 2 athletes of the group were veterans - Micaela and Shana.
We all met in Miami for the first time on August 16th and uniforms, warmups, shoes and dufflebags were distributed. We had a meeting prior departure for Venezuela. We went over all issues that we need to know about our trip. The athletes were upbeat and ready to go. Coach Jesse established connection with athletes right away. Jesse made sure that all athletes were loosen up and did some stretching. When we hopped onto the plane, the kids did not have any slightest idea what to expect down in Venezuela. Thomas was hoping that the trip would be a good and learning one for the athletes. Those athletes are our future Deaflympians, hopefully.
When we arrived Caracas, we hurried to catch our plane to Baquisimeto. We met the group from Canada and Mexico and we greeted each other. The group experienced some hassle and time consuming process of getting our plane tickets. All in all, we got to our destination without any additional difficult. Upon arriving Barquisimeto, we were led to our dormitory. We got ourselves comfortable, in spite of no air conditioner. We depend on wind to keep the room cool. We were fortunate that the weather was good to us during our stay. Next morning, we went to the track/field facility for the first time. It was very nice. Coach Jesse and Trainer Billie did their jobs very well and athletes proceed getting ready for competition. Trying out the new spike shoes and the track itself. When we returned to our dormitory and reality hit hard on the athletes. The group became a celebrity.
From this point to the end of our stay, young athletes, coaches and fans from other countries - Venezuela and Mexico - wanted to take pictures with our athletes, trading pins or whatever that got USA flag or colors on them. Our kids had fun at the beginning, but at the end, they had enough of it. As one athlete mentioned that one day, the group had to pose for picture taking 27 times! It was quite an experience that our athletes will never forget.
We had our share of discomfort. Some of us did not enjoy the meals they offered. The USADTF took the group to McDonalds nearby for our lunch on most of the days. It came as a blessing. The kids felt at home!
Now when it came to begin the competition, the athletes were poised and ready. Although, there were some confusion with communication. Athletes followed Coach Jesse and worked hard. For the first day, our athletes were not sure how they would fare against others. At the end of the day, we realized we were in for a strong showing by winning 14 medals! We met at the dormitory and discussed the outcome and planned for the 2nd day. The wonderful group did not let the results get to their head by winning 13 more medals the next day for a total of 27 medals in 2 days of competition. We figured that the most medals we could win during the 3rd day was 8. We discussed about it and hoped we would be able to grab at least 5 more medals during the final day. We surprised ourselves once more by winning all 8 medals. In all, we bagged 35 medals! Unbelievable! 35 medals by just 8 athletes. Mexico group had 25 athletes and Venezuela boasted 34 athletes. Canada brought 7 athletes. We were elated to have done very well.
Not only that we had won so many medals, our athletes also broke a total of 12 Youth PANAMDES records. Gabriel Paulone won 4 Gold and broke all 4 records! Shana Lehmann went on to break 5 records as well. Michelle Gitermann not only won Gold in 75m but she also did it by breaking the record! Micaela Paulone broke her own record in hurdle that she set the standard back in 2000.
As we won more medals, the more demand we became to pose for pictures. Even some grandmothers wanted a picture with us. A lot of parents wanted their babies with us. That was the price for being so successful and being USA citizens. We were well represented by the entire group, including Jesse and Billie. Thomas, the President of USA Deaf Track and Field, could not be any prouder than this.
Other than competition and posing for pictures, we were able to have 2 short side activities. We were taken to a big mall for a little shopping and a visit to the downtown in Barquisimeto. Basically, there were not much to see.
The access to the internet was made available to the USA delegate during the first 2 days. The access was limited afterwards. The office was either closed or occupied. USADTF apologies for not keeping you informed during the last few days of our stay.
Next Youth PANAMDES will be held in Montreal, Canada in 2004. The Canada group has announced that they will also include basketball and swimming to the program. They will supply additional information in near future.
The Youth PANAMDES committee has given USA the opportunity to host 4th Youth PANAMDES in 2006. We will know more in next few months if USADSF supports this and if USADTF is able to host. More information on this within a few months.
Results? Medal count, we placed 2nd behind Venezuela. And, we came in 3rd in the Championship Point system. The point system was based on 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1. With just 8 athletes, it was difficult to rack up points. Also, the relay events earn 20-16-12-10-8-6-4-2. USA Team was unable to field a relay team due to event limits and age group. We hope to bring more athletes in 2004 when we compete in 3rd Youth PANAMDES in Montreal, Canada.
| Medal Count | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | | Venezuela | 13 | 18 | 12 | 43 | | USA | 20 | 8 | 7 | 35 | | Mexico | 3 | 11 | 11 | 25 | | Canada | 2 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| Points for Championship | | Venezuela | 616 pts | | Mexico | 367 pts | | USA | 338 pts | | Canada | 100 pts |
USA Individual Performance:
Rachel Benedict (MD)
80m - Bronze - 12.1
400m - Gold - 1:10.28
Long Jump - Gold - 3.88m
100m - 4th - 14.93
Shot Put - Gold - 6.35m (20 10)
Malibu Barron (MD)
80m - Gold - 11.66
400m - Silver - 1:10.75
Long Jump - 4th - 3.48m (11 5)
100m - Gold - 14.46
High Jump - Gold - 1.10m (3 7.33)
Wesley Diaz (TX)
100m - Bronze - 12.67
Shot Put - 4th - 9.21m (30 2.5)
200m - 4th - 26.50
High Jump - Silver - 1.43m (4 8.33)
400m - Gold - 59..81
Long Jump - Bronze - 4.92m (16 1.67)
Michelle Gitermann (TX)
60m - Bronze - 9.94
Softball - Silver - 26.80m (87 11)
75m - Gold - 12.11 *
Long Jump - Silver - 3.53 (11 7)
Shana Lehmann (MD)
100m - Gold - 13.66 *
Shot Put - Gold - 8.05m (26 5) *
200m - Gold - 27.99 *
High Jump - Silver - 1.25m (4 1.25)
400n - Gold - 1:03.7 *
Long Jump - Gold - 4.91m (16 1.33) *
Scott Lehmann (MD)
80m - 4th - 11.2
400m - Silver - 1:05.21
Long Jump - Bronze - 4.39m (14 4.67)
100m - Bronze - 14.17
Shot Put - Gold - 9.78m (32 1)
Gabriel Paulone (IND)
60m - Gold - 8.89 *
Softball - Gold - 42.18m (138 4.5) *
75m - Gold - 10.82 *
Long Jump - Gold - 4.25m (13 11.33) *
Micaela Paulone (IND)
100m - 4th - 15.01
200m - Bronze - 31.01
High Jump - Gold - 1.30m (4 3.25) *
400m - Silver - 1:10.00
100m Hurdle - Gold - 18.47 *
Long Jump - Silver - 4.20m (13 9.25)
* indicates new Youth PANAMDES Record
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