Deaf student excels on bikes and skis

Nicolas Yopp. Photo provided

Freshly graduated from Sisters High School, Nicolas Yopp is ready to see the world. The parts he hasn't already seen from the back of his bicycle or from ski slopes across the planet, that is.

Actually, the bicycling gets done here in Oregon. Yopp plans a full schedule of Oregon Bike Racing Association (OBRA) sanctioned races during the summer.

Currently riding in first place in his age group (Sport Junior Men 15-18 years), Yopp finished the high school race season as state champion. The sport initially attracted Yopp because he is an outdoorsy kind of guy.

"I like the downhill and technical sections, and I like to go out in the woods," said Yopp.

Weather doesn't affect Yopp's love of the outdoors. A skier since he could walk, winter snows open all manner of opportunities for him.

Yopp's father, Ken, planted the skiing bug in both of his children. (Yopp's younger sister, Stephanie, is also a competitive skier.) Ken made a tiny pair of skis, attached them together with a pair of shoelaces, and towed the kids across the carpet of the family home in New Hampshire.

The family ran a ski shop until a cross country move in 1990 transplanted them to Sisters.

As Yopp grew and found success in ski racing, he dreamed of one day going to the Olympics.

Lofty dreams indeed, but not impossible for a racer of his caliber. Except for one small thing, which made every goal more challenging for Nicolas Yopp. He is deaf.

Adept at lip-reading and eloquent of speech, he has succeeded in academics and personally, as well as with sports.

"I dreamed of the Olympics," he said. "Then I discovered the Deaf Olympics."

Qualifying with two wins at an event at Lake Tahoe, Yopp competed in the Deaf Olympics in March, in Sundsvall, Sweden.

The event is held every four years, in odd years, and 25 countries were represented in the sports of downhill and slalom skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and hockey.

Yopp entered the downhill, giant slalom and slalom races. There is no age distinction in Olympics, which meant that teens such as Yopp were competing against grown men -- and some of them were World Cup racers.

Each person competed as an individual; Yopp finished 13th out of 50 in the Giant Slalom and garnered 16th place in the downhill.

When asked what was the best thing about the experience, Yopp said, "Learning different languages."

Sign language is easier to understand because gestures are easier to understand and some signs are universal. Ken added that it was heartwarming to see the competitors talking as they did.

"There was so much camaraderie," he said.

The Yopp family is also thankful for the wonderful support that was shown to them by the Sisters community.

"Nicolas had to raise a lot of money to get there, and a lot of people supported him," said Ken.

"I'm thankful to my family for their support to help me stay active," added Yopp. "Sports have helped me stay focused and gives me something to do."

Yopp's next challenge will arise in the fall, in Portland, as he attends Portland State University, majoring in architecture.