Two-time Paralympic medalist Eliana Mason supports fiancée Calahan Young in the goal kick

PARIS (AP) — The U.S. women’s goalball team has failed to qualify for the Paralympic Games for the first time since 1984. But two-time Paralympic medalist Eliana Mason is still in Paris.

This time, Mason is in the stands supporting her fiancé, Calahan Young, the captain of the United States men’s team.

“She puts her best face on and tries to keep it together,” Young said. “Because she wants that more than anything, she can participate here too.”

Goalball is for athletes with a visual impairment. Athletes must wear blackout eye shields to level the playing field across different fields of vision. Bubbles in the ball allow players to hear the ball and anticipate its movement.

Mason won a medal in the Rio 2016 (bronze) and Tokyo 2021 (silver) Games.

When Mason entered the La Defense arena in Paris on Friday to watch Young and the men’s team compete in the first match, she was overwhelmed with emotion.

“I wanted to start crying because I thought, ‘This is the arena,’” Mason said. “It happens, and I don’t participate.”

Mason said her work as a mental health counselor has been with her through this experience. She often tells clients that it’s okay to hold space for two separate emotions, and emphasizes the importance of using words like “and” instead of “but.”

“Like, it’s really hard for me,” and “I’m so happy and proud of Calahan,” Mason said.

Mason and Young first met at a goalball tournament in 2013, when they were 17 years old. They started dating four years later after they both moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana, to what was then the high-performance center for the United States goalball teams.

At this year’s games, Mason is taking her new role as a fan very seriously. In goalball, spectators are not allowed to cheer or make noise during play. As a player she knows when to cheer.

“I told her that every time it was quiet, she had to have one last scream so I knew where she was,” Young said after the 5-4 win against France on Saturday. The American captain added that he is 90% sure that he will point to her when he scores a point.

The United States women have competed in every Paralympic Games since a women’s category was added 40 years ago, and they boast six medals. This year qualifying was more difficult as organizers reduced the number of teams that could qualify from 10 to eight.

The US women had three chances to qualify in three tournaments, and in each competition they lost by narrow margins. After losing by one point in the gold medal game against Canada at the 2023 Parapan American Games, the US lost its last chance at the Paralympic Games.

“I remember being heartbroken when I left the field and thinking, ‘We’re not going to Paris,’” Mason said.

As the next four-year Paralympic cycle begins, Mason and her teammates have one thing in mind.

“We want to be in LA, and our goal is to win that gold medal,” Mason said, referring to the Los Angeles Paralympics in 2028. “I say I got a bronze, I got a splinter, I got a don’t go. So the next step is gold.”

The men’s team is also on the hunt for hardware at this year’s Paralympic Games. The last time they were on the podium was in Rio 2016, where they won silver. Young and his teammates will play their last group match against Iran on Sunday.

Sunday is also Mason’s birthday. The Paralympic couple planned a dinner with their family the night before the race to celebrate early. The next day she will be back in the stands to watch the American men compete.

“She’s the most supportive fiancée you could ever ask for, and she’s coming to cheer us on,” Young said.

Gabriella Etienne is a student in the bachelor’s degree program at the University of Georgia’s Carmical Sports Media Institute.

AP Paralympic Games: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games