Winter Olympics: Shaun White inspires cancer survivors
Both young cancer survivors are at the Games thanks to Make-A-Wish Foundation and got to meet the Olympian.
BY WAYNE COFFEY / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
PUBLISHED: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11, 2014, 5:42 PM
UPDATED: WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2014, 9:25 AM
DYLAN MARTINEZ/REUTERS
Before Shaun White competes during the men's snowboard halfpipe, he meets with two young fans.
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KRASNAYA POLYANA, Russia —About four hours before he fell short of his goal to capture a third straight gold medal in Olympic halfpipe, snowboarder Shaun White hopped a mesh fence and gave hugs and high-fives to two young fans from the United States.
Both are cancer survivors who are at the Games thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
“This can’t be happening. This is super awesome,” said Ben Hughes, 10, a snowboarder from St. Louis who was diagnosed with leukemia four years ago.
Nearby was Katie Lyle, 19, of Pensacola, Fla.
“Four years ago, when Shaun won his gold (in Vancouver), I was actually going through treatment at the time. I was in the hospital on chemo,” said Lyle, who has been free of her bone cancer for three and a half years. “Watching him compete, he has such sportsmanship, he’s so lively, he’s so full of life — he just really inspired me.”
When White came over the fence to greet them, Lyle said her reaction was, “ ‘Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh, my God. I love him.’ But he’s cuter in person.”
Liz Hughes, Ben’s mother, was in tears after White visited with her son.
“He’s a very good guy. He does a lot of good things for many people,” she said, adding that she had no idea White would meet them personally.
“We’re here through the Make-A-Wish Foundation. So (Ben’s) wish was to come to the Winter Olympics, specifically the snowboarding. We’ve been here for several events. But this is his highlight. We didn’t expect that at all. This is the trip of a lifetime for (Ben). So it’s incredible.”
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/olympics/olympian-shaun-white-inspires-cancer-survivors-article-1.1610426#ixzz2tnnCrb7p
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