Paralympic Games medalist to receive Perseverance in Sports Award March 29

Paralympic Games medalist to receive Perseverance in Sports Award March 29March 28, 2007Gillian Ottmangeottma@syr.edu

Alexi Salamone, a 2006 Team USA bronze medalist for the sled hockey team at the Winter Paralympic Games in Torino, Italy, will be honored by Syracuse University with the Jreck Subs Perseverance in Sports Award on Thursday, March 29.

The Syracuse University Sport Management Club, as part of its second annual gala Charity Sports Auction to benefit the Boys & Girls Clubs of Syracuse, will present the award. The event, which begins at 5:30 p.m. in the Carrier Dome, will also feature three-time NCAA Player of the Year and Basketball Hall of Fame member Bill Walton, who will deliver the Jreck Subs Distinguished Lecture at 6:30 p.m.

Alexi was born in Russia 14 months after the meltdown of a nuclear reactor in Chernobyl. The lasting effects of the world’s worst nuclear disaster left him with severely deformed legs, and he subsequently had both legs amputated at the age of four. The Salamone family of Grand Island, N.Y., later adopted Alexi.

In 2002, Alexi began playing sled hockey. By 2003, he qualified for the Junior National Sled Hockey Team. Soon afterward, he was named to the Senior National Team. At the 2006 Paralympic Winter Games in Torino, Alexi led the United States in scoring and won a bronze medal.

The Perseverance in Sports Award presentation, Jreck Subs Distinguished Lecture and Charity Sports Auction are open to the public. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for SU students and everyone 18 years old or younger. Tickets can be purchased at the Carrier Dome Box Office or by calling 1-888-DOMETIX (366-3849).

The Sport Management Club is a student-run organization of the Department of Sport Management in the College of Human Services and Health Professions. The Club created the Perseverance in Sports Award to recognize a person who has used sports participation to overcome significant odds or obstacles in their life and to achieve athletic success and personal growth.