World Games for the Deaf : Wilson Sets Sights on 10 Gold Medals

Swimmer Stuart Wilson won his fifth and sixth gold medals and track and field performer Charles Smith won his third gold medal at the XV World Games for the Deaf on Sunday.

The United States team captured five gold medals on the fourth day of competition, which runs through July 20 at various sites throughout Los Angeles.

Wilson, Atlanta Ga., won two more gold medals in swimming Sunday when he swam on the victorious United States 400 freestyle relay team and took the 400-meter freestyle in 4:13.75. He is trying to equal the mark of Olympic gold-medalist Jeff Float. Float, who captured 10 gold medals in 10 events at the 1977 World Deaf Games in Bucharest, Romania and is also the only hearing-impaired athlete to win a gold medal in Olympic competition.

Smith of Las Vegas, has already won the long jump and 100-meter sprint and captured the 200-meter dash despite a severely injured ankle suffered in Friday’s long jump competition. Sherrie Jackson of Greenville, Miss., set a world deaf record in the 200-meter sprint with a clocking of 24.86. She broke her own 1981 mark of 24.92 and has now won back-to-back golds in the 100-and 200-meter races in World Deaf Games competition.

Bonnie Bodnar, Colorado Springs, took the women’s discus with a throw of 118-1.

In other action, Heidi Stilling of West Germany won the women’s tennis final over Debra Evans of Johnson City, Tenn., 6-4, 7-5.

After five events in the decathlon, Miro Bednarek of West Germany leads defending champion and world deaf record holder Terence Dixon of Baltimore, Md., by 201 points.

The U.S. women’s basketball team cruised to its third victory of the tournament, a 112-11 thrashing of Canada. It won the gold medal at the 1981 games at Cologne, West Germany and is a heavy favorite in this year’s competition.