Syracuse.com - Perez distinguishes himself at Paralympic biathlon and nordic skiing competition

[HuntingNY-News]

Augusto "Goose" Perez finished all six events he entered, registering personal bests each time. The one-legged athlete has battled cancer four times.

Perez has battled cancer four times. John Berry/The Post-Standard

One-legged Nordic skier Augusto “Goose” Perez, a cancer survivor, finished all six of the races he entered recently at the International Paralympic Committee Adaptive Biathlon and Nordic World Cup in Cable, Wis.

Three of the events were cross country skiing races; three were biathlon events.

Perez said he met the standards for the upcoming Paralympic Games in Sochi, Russia, in March 2014, which will be held following the 2014 Winter Olympic games in Sochi. At this point, though, he has not secured a spot on the U.S. team. That decision will be made a couple of months before the games, he said.

The 40-year-old East Syracuse resident has battled cancer four times, recovering most recently from yet another operation and six weeks of chemotherapy that ended Jan. 4.

“My last race was the 12.5-kilometer biathlon, which was held on the nine-month anniversary of my mother passing away from pancreatic cancer and two weeks from when my last cancer treatment ended,” he said. “I had promised her I would finish in the top 10 — and I did in that race. I finished 10th.”

View the full article on The Syracuse Outdoors Blog