Jen Armbruster of the United States last chance for gold
For four-time Paralympic Goalball player and former Basketball star Jen Armbruster of the United States, the Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games may be her last chance to realize her dream of a Paralympic gold medal.
Armbruster was born in Chinese Taipei, where her father Ken Armbruster, now the head coach of the US Women's Goalball Team, worked.
Armbruster has been involved in sports since she was a small child and dreamt of playing on the US Olympic Basketball team.
But as her eye-sight deteriorated, she was forced to quit her favorite sport at the age of 16.
"Sport is my life, so I wanted to choose another competitive team sport to live my Olympic dream," she said.
Her father supported her pursuit of Olympic glory, giving up Basketball and Softball to learn Goalball when his daughter took up the sport.
After the Athens 2004 Paralympic Games, Armbruster had planned to leave the competitive arena, but the temptation of Beijing hosting the 2008 Paralympic Games and an elusive gold medal was too much for her to ignore.
Armbruster, 33, began her Olympic journey at the Barcelona 1992 Paralympic Games when the US Women's Goalball team was coached by Ken Armbruster's sister.
Since then, the team has been coached by her father, an involvement that has changed the relationship between the two.
"We are not a father and daughter any more since I became her coach," he said.
It's an attitude his daughter shares.
"It's not about being a daughter, it's about being a team," she said.
"He is one of the best coaches in the world," she continued.
As one of the world's top players in Women's Goalball, Armbruster has dozens of medals and titles to her credit, including Paralympic silver and bronze medals and a gold medal at the 2002 International Blind Sports Association (ISBA) World Championships.
Despite the pressure and the knowledge that this may be her last Paralympic Games, she admits that she is excited about being in Beijing.
"I like Beijing, everybody here is just very, very friendly and kind, I knew my fifth one (Paralympics) would be a great one and I knew everything here is always to be done perfectly. What I have seen lives up to or even exceeds my expectations," she said.
Whether the US takes home gold or not, one thing is for sure: the father and daughter Armbruster team will stick together.
"We've been practicing together for a long time. When she gets off the train, I will get off the train too," he said.
Thus far, the US Paralympic Goalball team has snatched two 2-0 victories in their Beijing appearances against Japan and Denmark. Armbruster scored both goals for team USA in the latter game.
Credit: Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games
Published on: 2008-09-09
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