ASHLAND, Ore. — Team USA announced Tuesday the roster for the 2019 Parapan American Games and one Ashland resident will get the chance to represent the red, white and blue.
Tandem cyclist Wendy Werthaiser will be headed to Lima, Peru next week to compete in the 6th Parapan American Games. She has the goal of making it to the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, but this is a step in the right direction.
Werthaiser has been legally blind for over 15 years, but it hasn't stopped her from chasing her dream of making the Olympic team.
Werthaiser has a degenerative eye disease called Cone-rod dystrophy (CRD). According to the U.S. Department of Health, CRD is "a group of inherited eye disorders that affect the light-sensitive cells of the retina." Over time, people with CRD experience vision loss as the cones and rods in the eye deteriorate.
The 2019 Parapan American Games run from August 23 to September 1st.
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