Local Paralympian Wins Gold in Individual 3km Pursuit

Oswego resident When he was selected in June to compete on the 2012 Paralympic Cycling Team, that dream was starting to come true.

Now, on August 31, two days into the Paralympics, Berenyi has won a gold medal.

Berenyi took the gold in the 3km individual pursuit with a time of 3:37.912.

Previously, Berenyi had won the individual pursuit at the national championships last fall in Los Angeles, and said it was one of the two events  he was most looking forward to.

A construction accident in 1994 took Berenyi’s right arm and left kneecap. His wife, Jill Berenyi, said he had been racing about a year when the accident occurred. She said he tried riding again soon after the accident, but it wasn’t until about three years ago that he was back racing again.

In 2011, Berenyi qualified for the national team. Of the approximately 40 national team members, only 16 will compete for Team USA in London.

The Paralympics end on Sunday, September 9, and Berenyi still has three more events to compete in: team sprint; road time trial; and the road race.

He placed tenth with a time of 1:11.649 in the 1km time trial.