Pediatric Nurse Wins Second Olympic Gold at Deaflympics

When Paige Beaudry was a little girl blowing out birthday candles, she made the same wish every year: to play Olympic soccer for the United States.

The pediatric nurse at University of Iowa Health Care Stead Family Children's Hospital just made that dream come true for the second time. In December, Beaudry won her second Olympic gold medal with the U.S. Women's Deaf National Soccer Team at the Deaflympics in Tokyo.

Born with hearing impairment and wearing hearing aids since infancy, young Beaudry wasn't sure there would be a place for her in the Olympics. She started playing soccer before kindergarten, but the path to her dream seemed unclear.

Everything changed when a high school teacher connected her with the national deaf women's team. The teacher's sister was on the squad, and at 15, Beaudry joined as a defender.

Since then, she's collected gold medals at both the 2022 Deaflympics in Brazil and the 2023 World Deaf Football Championships in Malaysia. She balanced this elite athletic career with nursing school, crediting professors who rearranged her clinical schedules around travel and competition.

When Beaudry joined the Iowa City hospital staff in July 2025, she immediately shared her Tokyo plans with her new managers. They worked with her to pick up extra shifts before her departure, making sure her patients stayed covered while she competed for gold.

"I couldn't have asked for anything better than what I have here," Beaudry says about her nursing team. They celebrated her victory with the same enthusiasm they bring to supporting her daily work.

Sunny's Take

Her young respiratory patients likely don't know their nurse is a two-time Olympic champion. They also don't see the specialized tools she uses to provide the same excellent care as any other nurse.

Beaudry wears a Bluetooth-enabled stethoscope that connects to her phone and sends sounds directly to her hearing aids. On a respiratory unit where constantly monitoring breathing sounds is critical, this technology lets her do her job without compromise.

She uses closed captioning for online communication and turns up her phone volume when needed. "It's all about adaptability and making it work the best way I can," she explains.

Beaudry's story shows what's possible when workplaces embrace flexibility and when people refuse to let obstacles define their limits. She's treating sick children, competing at the highest level of her sport, and planning a wedding after getting engaged last year.

From a uncertain child with hearing aids to a confident nurse and Olympic gold medalist, Beaudry proves that the right support system can turn birthday wishes into reality.