Saalfeld has chance to go for gold, but needs your help
Friday, April 3, 2009
Ask Craig Saalfeld what it would be like to stand on top of the podium, gold medal around his neck as he represents his country, and his eyes get big.
“That would be awesome,” Saalfeld says. “Standing on top of the podium would be amazing.”
Saalfeld is a senior at Emporia State. He stands out on the track and field team because he’s one of the best Division II high jumpers in the country. He’s an MIAA champion and a two-time All-American. He also started competing in the decathlon last spring, and this year he won the MIAA indoor title in the heptathlon, which has seven events instead of 10.
Craig Saalfeld also stands out, if you look closely, because he wears a small hearing aid in his left ear. Saalfeld is partially deaf, a disability that has never really been that at all.
“I think it gives me a drive to do better, to compete at a higher standard,” he says. “I know what I’ve lost, so it gives me a better understanding of what I have.
In September, Saalfeld could add Olympian gold medalist to his list of achievements. The Deaflympics, held every four years just like the Olympics, is in Taipei, Taiwan, this year. Saalfeld and his twin brother, Michael, who runs the 800 meters for Concordia University in Nebraska, have both been invited to compete for the United States team.
Unlike many other countries, the United States does not pay for its athletes to travel and compete in the Deaflympics and Craig and Michael are trying to raise $4,500 each so they can both compete. Most of the athletes on the team have known about the Games and been raising money for two to three years. Craig found out about the Deaflympics just two months ago.
U.S. coach Thomas Withrow heard about Craig after he competed in a national meet last spring. He contacted Craig to ask him to be on the team, and then Craig informed him of his brother.
“He about had a heart attack,” Craig said.
In the last Deaflympics in Melbourne, Australia in 2005, the United States won only one gold medal and eight medals total. The Saalfelds alone could win three golds. Craig’s best jump in the high jump is 6 feet, 11 1/2 inches, which would have won gold in Melbourne. The world record is 6 feet, 11 3/4 inches. His best mark in the decathlon would also have won gold.
Michael is currently ranked in the top 30 of all competitive United States runners in the 800, and his best time would have also won gold in Melbourne.
Craig and Michael have obviously never let their condition hold them back. Craig found out he was severely hearing-impaired in kindergarten when a teacher noticed something was wrong. They discovered his brother had the same problem a year later, and as Craig says, it’s all they know.
ESU coach Dave Harris says it has never been a problem.
“I’m the head coach here, and I don’t think I’ve ever really felt that this been a handicap to him,” Harris says. “The only time is when I’m talking to him, and somebody will say, ‘He doesn’t have his hearing aid in, Coach.’”
Craig has never asked for special treatment from Harris or any of his teammates, and really, he’s never needed it.
But, for the first time, Craig and his brother are asking for help. Craig is handing out brochures that ask for donations.
On the front of the brochure, it reads, “They’ve gotten this far on their own... Now they need your help.”
So if you have the chance, make a donation to the Saalfelds, and help make sure Craig and his brother have the chance to make it on that podium in September.
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