Blind freshman starts college after winning bronze in Rio
A Fairfield University freshman is settling in at school after competing on one of the biggest sports stages in the world. Colleen Young won a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Rio last month.
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Oct 10, 2016, 2:55 AM
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Updated 3,076 days ago
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A Fairfield University freshman is settling in at school after competing on one of the biggest sports stages in the world.
Colleen Young won a bronze medal at the Paralympic Games in Rio last month. She also represented the United States at the 2012 Paralympics in London.
Young has albinism and is legally blind.
The freshman says from a very young age she knew swimming was something she loved to do.
"My aunt and my mom were both swimmers and so I guess swimming kind of runs in the family," Young said.
The St. Louis native moved halfway across the country partly because of Fairfield's coach, Janelle Atkinson.
Coach Atkinson, a two-time Olympian in her own right, says the 18-year-old athlete definitely helps elevate Fairfield's program to another level.
Young will debut swimming for the Stags Friday when Fairfield University opens its season.
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