A Dog That Received An Olympic Gold Medal
A four-time world champion Carina Edlinger is an Australian athlete who won two medals during the Winter 2022 Paralympics in Beijing for cross-country skiing. She came up with a very creative and unusual way of thanking her guide dog Riley. Olympic Gold Medal
Riley is 5 years old and she has been by Carina’s side for a while now. Edlinger says that the most important part of coming to China was being able to bring Riley with her. “If Riley did not come to enter China I would have flown back home,” says the athlete.
Carina has Stargardt disease which became the reason for her vision impairment. According to her, she only sees between 1.5 and 2 percent. This makes her one of the most low-vision athletes competing in the Paralympics. She would not have made it without her guide dog, since Riley helped her not only physically by helping her find her way but also emotionally, by supporting and inspiring her.
When the medals for the champions were first brought over, Riley jumped up in excitement, hoping that there would be something for her too. She got very curious and even sniffed the medals. After Edlinger accepted her gold medals, she surprised everyone by pulling another small medal from her pocket and gently putting it around Riley’s neck. She stood back, letting the dog have her special moment too.
Everyone absolutely loved watching the dog accepting her gold medal. Riley was so happy she could not stop wagging her tail. After the ceremony was over, both of them posed for pictures together showing off their medals. We are sure that both Carina and Riley will remember that moment forever. They were just so thrilled to experience that special moment together. There are some things that happen only once in a lifetime, and this might have been one of them.
