Two-time medalist U.S. goalball player supports her Paralympian fiance—from the stands

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

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

“She’s putting on her best face, trying to keep it together,” Young said. “Because she wishes that more than anything, she could be down here competing, too.”

Goalball is for athletes with visual impairments. Athletes must wear blackout eyeshades to level the playing field across different ranges of vision. Bells inside the ball enables players to hear it and anticipate its movement.

Mason medaled in the Rio 2016 games (bronze) and Tokyo in 2021 (silver).

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

“I wanted to start crying because I’m like, ‘this is the arena,’” Mason said. “It’s happening, and I’m not competing.”

Mason said her work as a mental health counselor has assisted her during this experience. She often tells clients that it is 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 am so happy and proud of Calahan,” said Mason.

Mason and Young first met while competing 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 gameplay. As a player herself, she knows when to cheer.

“I told her that, whenever it was quiet, to get one last yell in, so I knew where she was,” Young said on Saturday after a 5-4 win against France. The U.S. captain added that he is 90% sure he is pointing at her whenever 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, qualification was more difficult because organizers cut the number of teams that could qualify from 10 to eight.

The U.S. women had three chances to qualify across three tournaments, and in each competition, they lost by slim margins. After defeat by one point in the gold medal match against Canada at the 2023 Parapan American Games, the U.S. lost its final chance for the Paralympics.

“I just remember feeling heartbroken walking off the court 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 L.A., and our goal is to win that gold medal,” Mason said, referencing the 2028 Los Angeles Paralympics. “I say that I have a bronze, I have a sliver, I have a not going. So next step is gold.”

At this year’s Paralympics, the men’s team is also in the hunt for hardware. The last time they stood on the podium was at Rio 2016, winning silver. Young and his teammates have their last match of group play on Sunday against Iran.

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

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

Gabriella Etienne is a student in the undergraduate certificate program in the Carmical Sports Media Institute at the University of Georgia.

AP Paralympics: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games

Eliana Mason, fiancé of American goalball team captain Callahan Young, wears a jersey displaying Young's name during the mens' United States versus France goalball game at the Paralympic Games in Paris, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Scheyer)

Eliana Mason, fiancé of American goalball team captain Callahan Young, cheers during the mens' United States versus France goalball game during the Paralympic Games in Paris, Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Felix Scheyer)

Calahan Young from the U.S. dives for a ball during a 13-8 loss to Brazil on Friday, August 30, 2024 at the South Paris Arena during the Paralympic Games in Paris. (AP Photo/Nathalee Simoneau)

Sweat drops from Calahan Young, U.S. goalball team captain, as he throws the ball during a match against Brazil on Friday, August 30, 2024 at the South Paris Arena during the Paralympic Games in Paris. (Photo/ Nathalee Simoneau)

Eliana Mason, an American goalball Paralympian, cheers on fiancé Calahan Young, during a match between the U.S. and Brazil mens' goalball teams on Friday, August 30, 2024 at the South Paris Arena during the Paralympic Games in Paris. Young is the U.S. men's team captain. Brazil won the match 13-8. (AP Photo/Nathalee Simoneau)

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Derrick Davis scored on a 1-yard dive with 32 seconds remaining and Pittsburgh rallied past West Virginia 38-34 on Saturday in the 107th edition of the Backyard Brawl.

The Panthers (3-0) trailed by 10 with less than 5 minutes to go before Eli Holstein, a redshirt freshman transfer from Alabama, led a stirring comeback that added another memorable chapter in a rivalry that dates to 1895.

Holstein found Daejon Reynolds with a 40-yard heave to the end zone with 3:06 remaining to bring Pitt within a field goal. The Panthers got the ball back with 1:59 left and Holstein deftly guided Pitt 77 yards, though Davis' go-ahead score came with Holstein on the sideline after the quarterback's helmet came off trying to bull his way into the end zone on the previous play.

No matter, Nate Yarnell — who lost a training camp battle with Holstein to be the starter — came on and handed it to Davis, a Pittsburgh native trying to resurrect his career after a stint at LSU.

The victory was Pitt's second in three tries against the Mountaineers since the series was renewed in 2022. It also marked the Panthers' second impressive comeback in eight days.

Pitt trailed Cincinnati by 21 in the second half before roaring back last week. The stakes were even higher and things considerably bleaker against the Mountaineers after WVU's Garrett Greene hit Justin Robinson for a 28-yard touchdown with 4:55 to play to put the Mountaineers up 34-24.

Yet Holstein was just getting started on a day he passed for 301 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 59 more. He was near perfect down the stretch to give Pitt its first 3-0 start since 2020.

Greene finished with 210 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns but was also picked off twice, including a desperation toss with 4 seconds remaining.

The Mountaineers (1-2) committed a handful of self-inflicted wounds along the way. They had a long touchdown pass in the third quarter called back after being flagged for holding then subsequently gave up a blocked punt that Pitt's Brandon George returned for a score that put Pitt up 24-17.

WVU reeled off the next 17 points and appeared to be firmly in control after Robinson made a leaping one-handed grab at the goal line — with his other hand in the facemask of a Pitt player — only to see Pitt's offense come to life late behind Holstein.

WVU: Neal Brown may have trouble backing up last year's somewhat surprising 9-win campaign. The Mountaineers remain a work in progress on defense and the offense might not be potent enough to overcome it.

Pitt: Holstein has emphatically ended the Panthers' search for a quarterback and a team that was picked to finish 13th in the expanded ACC looks as if it could be dangerous once conference play begins in October.

WVU: begins Big 12 play next Saturday when Kansas visits Mountaineer Field.

Pitt: finishes up nonconference play next Saturday at home against Youngstown State.

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Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid (0) pulls in a pass for a touchdown as he's defended by West Virginia linebacker Josiah Trotter, right, during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene, right, hands off to wide receiver Traylon Ray, left, during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

West Virginia quarterback Garrett Greene (6) looks to throw during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

West Virginia running back Jahiem White (1) scores during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Pittsburgh, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Pittsburgh running back Desmond Reid (0) celebrates with Raphael Williams Jr. (5) after scoring during the first half of an NCAA college football game against West Virginia Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)

Pittsburgh quarterback Eli Holstein (10) looks to throw during the first half of an NCAA college football game against West Virginia, Saturday, Sept. 14, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)