Saturday, Sep. 27, 2008

Athlete gets Olympic-sized Ki-Be homecoming

Laura Kate Zaichkin, Herald staff writer

BENTON CITY -- Kiona-Benton High School's principal wanted to talk about truancy before the school's homecoming celebrations began Friday.

"One of our freshmen had a little trouble getting to class on time," Wayne Barrett said. "She was about three weeks late."

He looked over at a smiling Chelsea McClammer and said, "I guess I'll excuse it because she was in the Olympics."

"I figure for the next four years we won't have an issue because I've seen her in that thing and she can fly."

Students applauded and some were brought to their feet as McClammer wheeled to the middle of the track.

The 14-year-old, who was paralyzed from the hips down after a head-on car collision eight years ago, finished eighth in the world for the woman's 800-meter final at the Beijing Paralympic Games earlier this month.

"It was a great experience," she said. And now that she's back, "There's a lot of support from family and friends."

McClammer said a lot of relatives and others logged onto computers to track her races at 4 a.m. and 6 a.m.

Many watched when she beat her best time to finish at 1:51.88.

"What Chelsea's done has been huge and everybody recognizes that," said her mother Rebecca Grimes of Benton City.

"It's a huge accomplishment," Barrett said. "Not very often do you have an Olympian in your high school."

Next up for McClammer, the youngest athlete on the U.S. Paralympic team, is a trip to the White House on Oct. 7 to meet the president with the rest of her team.