Rio blog: Cristo Redentor

(Shelby Baron is a senior communicative disorders major and a wheelchair tennis player at UA. She has competed for the United States National Team since 2010 and competed for the U.S. in Rio. Baron has been blogging about her experiences while in Rio, where the 2016 Paralympic Games are being held.)

I exited out of my first Paralympics with a loss in singles and doubles to the Netherlands. It has been an amazing experience to play in front of such large, friendly crowds. I played my heart out and played with no regrets. I have learned so much from playing several top-10 athletes in the world, and I hope to improve so that I can compete in Tokyo.

Since my elimination, I have been enjoying my time in Rio, while catching up with some school work. Today, my team and I got to venture outside of the venues to do a little sightseeing. We climbed up to 2,300 feet to visit “Christ the Redeemer,” a statue known as Cristo Redento here, and we got a fabulous view of Rio. I was amazed by the grandiosity of the statue and marveled at the the city beneath. I don’t know if we plan to do more sightseeing, but I certainly am enjoying watching such high levels of competition. 

I have supported Team USA in various Paralympic sports. Today, we watched the men’s basketball team move into the gold medal game with a win over Turkey. Tomorrow, the women’s basketball team also goes for gold against Germany, and my former teammate and Alabama graduate, Mackenzie Soldan, will play. Roll Tide! And Go USA!