Press and Media Center

XTERRA Star John Klish "Never Hears No"

John Klish (pictured), the reigning 25-29 XTERRA National Champion, has been tearing up the trails of late, winning the overall at the XTERRA BOLT off-road tri in Raymond, Nebraska and finishing as the top amateur overall at XTERRA Indian Peaks.  While his success in the XTERRA series is no surprise, a recent article in his hometown paper, the Eagle Valley (CO) Enterprise, brought to light his amazing path to get to where he is today. The 30-year-old engineer is smart, deaf, and a cancer survivor, as detailed in Derek Franz article titled "Never hears 'No'.

When he was child, his Mom was told by an audiologist to put John in a state school for the deaf and blind where he could be raised, "basically saying to give up and forget about him," said his mother Karen Fehringer in the article.  Instead, she walked out the door and moved the family from their home in Colorado to Massachusetts where John could attend a hearing and speech school.

Klish not only overcame, but thrived and excelled in everything he did.  "The guy is ridiculously smart.  You don't see many people taking a thermodynamics class with a sign-language interpreter," said his Colorado State University cycling teammate and friend Jeremy Rietmann in the story.

In addition to his full-time job at the Colorado Department of Transportation, and a 15-to-25-hour a week training program, Klish also volunteers at the Aspen Camp of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and is currently developing an organization for hard of hearing and deaf athletes.

"We want to encourage better and safer racing etiquette between both words of hearing and deaf," said Klish.

With more than 50 races on his 2011 schedule Klish will have ample opportunity to inspire those around him.  Most certainly, he's a shining example of the "Live More" spirit of XTERRA.