Spartan Profiles: Aaron Scheides
WORLD CHAMP
Last November more than 3,000 athletes from 75 countries gathered in Cancun, Mexico, for Triathlon World Championships. MSU student Aaron Scheidies, a junior from Farmington, took first place among the blind male athletes in the grueling competition consisting of a 1.5K swim, a 40K bike ride, and a 10K run.
Altogether there were 38 athletes with disabilities competing. “I had a blast, it was awesome,” says Scheidies, who suffers from macular degeneration, a hereditary disease that affects vision. “It’s kind of like the Olympics, coming together with all the countries and racing against people from all over the world.”
Aaron, who carries a perfect 4.0 GPA, chose friend Matt West to serve as his guide, helping with marking buoys and making hairpin turns during the race. “Aaron exemplifies that people with disabilities are normal people with special circumstances who live very full and active lives,” notes Aaron Miller, editor of The Harbinger, the newsletter for MSU’s Resource Center for Persons With Disabilities. “He is a tenacious student and athlete who goes after his goals with a passion.”
Aaron finished in 2:24, a bit off his personal best time of 2:13, mainly he was nursing a hip injury as Cancun temperatures had soared above 90 degrees with 100 percent humidity.
In high school he played soccer before his eyesight began to deteriorate, after which he continued to compete in swimming, track and cross country. At MSU he is president of the triathlon club, a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars, and a member of the prestigious Tower Guard Honor Society. “You can really do anything you want if you have confidence in your own abilities and just believe you can,” says Aaron, now planning for the Collegian Triathlon Championship (April 26) in Peoria, AZ, the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon (Aug. 2 on NBC-TV) in Minneapolis and 2003 World Triathlon Championships (Dec.) in New Zealand.