Tag Archives: paralympics

TSU graduate ready for Paralympic Games

 

Courtesy: WSMV News

Click for full original story

NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) – Athletes who have defied tremendous odds will take center stage in Rio de Janeiro at the opening of the Paralympic Games.

The Games got underway Wednesday, Sept. 8.

Dozens of Nashville residents will have a reason to cheer as Tennessee State University’s own Markeith Price prepares to compete.

th
Markeith Price

Price got his first shot at the games in London, but did not place. He is hoping this time will be different.

“I know I’m going to be excited. I know I’m going to be nervous. But I’ll just have a smile on my face the whole time and just enjoy myself,” Price said. “And when it’s go time and ready to compete, it’s go time.”

Like most runners, Price spends early mornings practicing starts, lifting weights, and improving his times at the 100 and 400 meter events.

But unlike most athletes, Price cannot see much of the track.

“At the age of 3, I got diagnosed with something called optic atrophy, which is damage to the optic nerves,” he said.

The nerves that connect the eyes to the brain are damaged for Price. He can barely see five feet in front of him.

“Honestly, I can only see but so far,” Price said. “Like we’re talking now, I’m looking straight in the camera, but I really can’t see the picture.”

But Price never let sight hold him back. As a child, he said when he couldn’t see the lines on the track, he learned to feel them.

“One thing I like to say is, yes, I’m limited by sight, but I am not limited by my faith,” he said.

He took that tenacity with him to TSU, where he joined the track team and trained under Coach Chandra Cheeseborough.

“We treated Markeith as a regular athlete,” Cheeseborough said. “He would be on relays, expected to jump, run, whatever event we put him in. It was not limitation. We did not succumb to his disability.”

Price credits TSU for making him the athlete he is today as he sports USA Paralympic gear.

“I’ve got the Team USA with the Nike on the chest,” Price said, smiling.

Price said he can’t wait to compete for a medal and make his family and Nashville proud.

“To all my family and friends, to all my coaches, Coach Cheeseborough, to TSU family, I want to say thank you for supporting me. I appreciate you guys for all that you’ve done,” he said.

The Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony begins at 6 p.m. on NBCSports. They are also available to watch online.

Price will be running in the 100 and 400 meter races on Thursday.

Copyright 2016 WSMV (Meredith Corporation). All rights reserved.

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 25 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.

TSU Graduate and Former Track Star Markeith Price Goes for Gold in Rio; Selected to 2016 Paralympic Games

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Lack of sight is not holding back Markeith Price.

The 2012 Tennessee State University graduate, who is visually impaired, is one of more than 60 athletes chosen for the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio that start September 7.

600_10151061455832624_1435042528_n (1)
Markeith Price

At the team trials in Charlotte, North Carolina, July 5, Price flashed across the finish line ahead of the field in the 100-meter. He came second in the 400-meter. He will represent the United States in both competitions, in the T-13 classification for the visually impaired.

A Baltimore native, Price will join 39 other men and 26 women who will represent Team USA in track and field.

“I am extremely honored and blessed for this opportunity,” said Price, who will be making his second straight appearance in the Paralympic Games for the United States. “I have dedicated the last four years to training to run the best race to bring home the gold for the U.S.”

Price was a member of the TSU Tigers men’s track team and the 2012 London Paralympic Games where he finished 6th in the long jump and 8th in the 400-meter dash.

His former coach at TSU said she was not surprise that Price was selected, citing his work ethics and determination to always be the best.

“Markeith was an excellent athlete who worked very hard and didn’t give us any trouble,” said Chandra Cheeseborough-Guide, director of Track and Field and a former Olympian, who coached Price in his junior and senior years. “I am excited for him and to know that we have someone from TSU in the Rio games.”

Diagnosed with Optic Nerve Atrophy at age 3, Price has lived with visual impairment his entire life. The condition is caused by damage of the optic nerve.

“When I was younger, I never really knew how to describe it,” Price said. “As I got older and heard other people describe their vision, I was able to get a better understanding.”

Price recently moved back to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he started a non-profit organization called I C You Foundation, Inc., which raises money for scholarships and programs for the visually impaired. In the last three years, the foundation has given more than $20,000 to organizations such as the Maryland School for the Blind, the Tennessee School for the Blind, and the United States Association for Blind Athletes.

“It’s something that my parents taught me and it’s something that I strongly believe in, and that is giving back to the community,” Price said. “I specifically give back to the visually impaired community because I know that group of people and I know their struggle.”

 

Department of Media Relations

Tennessee State University
3500 John Merritt Boulevard
Nashville, Tennessee 37209
615.963.5331

About Tennessee State University

With more than 9,000 students, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a comprehensive, urban, co-educational, land-grant university offering 38 undergraduate, 22 graduate and seven doctoral programs. TSU has earned a top 20 ranking for Historically Black Colleges and Universities according to U.S. News and World Report, and rated as one of the top universities in the country by Washington Monthly for social mobility, research and community service. Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University celebrated 100 years in Nashville during 2012. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.