GLASA athletes return from Paralympic Games in Rio with honors, medals

Posted September 29, 2016 6:00 am

Submitted by Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association

GLASA athletes Sam Grewe won the silver medal in the high jump at the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. Photo by Joe Kusumoto. Courtesy of Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association

The 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio have come to an end and Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association in Lake Forest could not be more proud of Team USA, its coaches and athletes. Several GLASA athletes represented USA on the world stage.

Two-time Paralympian swimmer Alyssa Gialamas, 21, of Naperville, finished sixth in the 50-meter backstroke with a time of 47.95, seventh in the 200-meter freestyle with a time of 3:15.04, 10th in the 100-meter freestyle with a time of 1:37.15 and 12th in the 50-meter Freestyle with a time of 44.48.

Sam Grewe, 18, of Middlebury, Indiana, made his Paralympic debut in the high jump. Grewe recorded a personal best with an incredible 1.86 meter jump and brought home the silver medal.

Jessica Heims, 17, of Swisher, Iowa, placed seventh in the 400-meter race with a personal best time of 1:09. Heims also placed eighth in the discus with a throw of 25.98 meters in her Paralympic debut and a personal best.

Nick Slade, 19, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, long jumped 6.82 meters for a seventh place finish in his first Paralympic Games.

Swim coach Glen O'Sullivan of Zion represented GLASA as one of the US Paralympic swim coaches. O'Sullivan has been a swim coach with GLASA since 1997 and introduced Alyssa Gialamas to the sport. Additionally, GLASA wishes to congratulate Hailey Danisewicz and Melissa Stockwell for bringing home the silver and bronze medals in the Paratriathlon event. These two athletes represented Dare2Tri and Chicago atop the medal podium.

The 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo is only four years away, and training is underway.

The Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association is a Gold Paralympic Sports Club which provides a continuum of developmental to elite level sports serving the Greater Chicagoland area and the Midwest.

The GLASA's motto is to "Let No One Sit on the Sidelines!" GLASA believes that the quality of life should never be limited by a physical or visual disability. GLASA is a 501c3 organization.

For more information on GLASA, visit www.glasa.org; or email GLASA Founder and Executive Director Cindy Housner, at chousner@glasa.org.

Jessica Heims represented the United States - and GLASA - in the 400-meter race and discus at the Paralympics in Rio. Courtesy of Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association

Swimmer Alyssa Gialamas of Naperville, long jumper Nick Slade and high jumper Sam Grewe traveled to Brazil to compete in the Paralympic Games. Courtesy of Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association

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