McCall Idaho Headline News

Barbara Lewis does not let an obstacle like being legally blind prevent her from racing in the 2008 Masters World Cup.

Lewis, 71 of New London, Conn., had earned two bronze medals in classic ski events on Saturday and Monday at the races, held at Ponderosa State Park.

Lewis is allowed to ski with a guide who calls out the course while he skis in front of her.
John Olnes, 69, of Anchorage, Alaska, was her guide during the races on Saturday and Monday.

He has guided her at 10 other Masters World Cups.

The arrangement is the only one of its kind that is allowed by the event's sanctioning body.

Photo for the Star-News by Matt Moehr Photography John Olnes leads the way for Barbara Lewis (906) who is legally blind, during Saturday's 10 kilometer race at Ponderosa State Park.

Lewis has been legally blind her entire life.

"I have no sense of vision," Lewis said. "I have peripheral 'vision. On a visual chart I have 20400 vision; I can see the big E."

She placed third in both the women's 10 kilometer classic race for her age class on Saturday and the women's 5km classic ski race on Monday.

She goes for a third medal today in the women's 15km race. The race starts at 9:10 a.m.

"I'm more or less synchronized with him," Lewis said of Olnes. "It is easier for me to follow him than a new guide. It is like night and day because I know him much better."

Olnes believed he was slowing her down on Saturday.

"I was slow on the first run, but Monday I had better glide or maybe she was just giving me more room," Olnes said. "I may have lost some of my ability, but she hasn't lost a bit."

Today, Ron Caple, of Duluth, Minn., will guide Lewis on the longer 15km race.

Skiing since 1978
Lewis began skiing in 1978 when she was picked by Ski for Light, a program of cross-country skiing benefiting blind, visually impaired, and mobility-impaired individuals and their guides.

She joined the U.S. Paralympic Team in 1982 and competed for the team until 1990.
She did not get to compete in the first Masters World Cup that she attended in Austria in 1988 due to poor weather.

Her first Masters World Cup she competed in was in the early 1990s. She met Olnes at the event held in Alaska in 1991.

"It is the best thing to ever happen to me," Lewis said of the Masters World Cup and cross country skiing. "It is a lot of fun; that's why I like to do it."

Lewis, a retired schoolteacher who taught students on a Navy base in Connecticut, maintains her fitness level by ice skating, in-line skating, biking, hiking, rowing and swimming.

She trained for this year's event with 17 days of skiing in Bend, Ore.