Gilroy’s Meghan Maiwald is a world champion.
The 23-year-old goalie, along with the U.S. Deaf National Team, defeated Russia 2-1 in the Deaflympics’ gold medal match Aug. 4 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The U.S. team defeated Greece (11-0), Poland (2-0) and Japan (7-0) before beating Great Britain in the semifinals 5-0.
Russia proved to be a worthy gold medal match opponent, becoming the only team to get a goal past Maiwald while denying the U.S. team a few chances of its own.
“The second half was the most stressful half I’ve played,” Maiwald said via email. “I had to remind myself to keep breathing and the game could not end any quicker. After the final whistle, the feeling was complete joy and relief. I also felt grateful for the opportunity to play this beautiful game — to represent our country, family, friends and hometown.”
Becoming a world champion is not without sacrifice. In addition to the time, effort and devotion that comes with playing at this level, Maiwald and her teammates also had to sacrifice financially to cover their trip to Bulgaria. The feeling of being a world champ, however, is worth its weight in gold.
“The feeling of the gold medal around my neck is priceless,” Maiwald said. “I’ve missed a lot of important things and events such as weddings to follow my dreams. It’s all worth it. It still hasn’t hit me yet and probably won’t for awhile.”
Maiwald and her teammates shared the experience of the Deaflympics with deaf athletes from 90 plus countries participating in 20 different sports. The athletes got a look at the Bulgarian culture and way of life — something Maiwald never imagined herself doing.
“My experience at the Deaflympics was life changing,” Maiwald said. “We all came from different backgrounds and walks of life but we all had one thing in common — our deafness. Sign language is universal and it was so fun interacting with other deaf athletes, especially with the Great Britain’s women’s soccer team.”
Now that the Deaflympics are over, Maiwald will return to play another season with the San Jose State Spartans as goalie and undergrad assistant coach to the team.
