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SANDY — After receiving part of his mother's liver in an organ transplant, a Sandy teen went on to win gold in several events at the 2015 World Transplant Games.
Ashton Arndt, 18, was born with severe jaundice and couldn't gain weight. When his liver failed, his mother discovered she was a match and donated part of her liver to him when he was 6 months old.
As an organ transplant recipient, he was eligible to compete in the Transplant Games of America. Arndt said he flew to Orlando with his family to compete in his first Games at 3 years old, but he got scared when the starting gun went off and only ran about 10 feet of the race before running back to his mother.
"I've come a long way," he said, laughing.
As Arndt got older, he discovered he enjoyed running and decided to compete in track and cross-country in high school. He continued to compete in the Transplant Games every two years and did quite well in his events, winning several medals over the years.
Arndt represented Team USA and competed in his first World Transplant Games in Mar del Plata, Argentina, on Aug. 21-31. He took gold in the 1500- and 800-meter races in his 18-29 age group and took silver in the 400-meter race.
Arndt said he dedicated his 800-meter race to Brittany Scadlock, a Roy woman who died in April while serving a mission in Argentina for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Arndt said he and his family became good friends with Scadlock's aunt, who is also an organ recipient.
"That's what kind of drove him to run that race," said Bryan Arndt, Ashton's father. "He wasn't going to get out of bed (that day) because he was so sick. … But he ended up dedicating that race to Brittany."
He also competed in the 5K, which included every age, and took second overall.
"It was really awesome because, for me, it proves to me and everyone that I know that I can still live a healthy, full life even after transplantation," he said. "It's really cool to meet all these different people that have similar stories to you."
Bryan Arndt said he and his wife are so proud of what their son has accomplished.
"It's been really rewarding to see that he can accomplish these things because when he was younger and a baby, we didn't know if he was going to make it past 3 years old," Bryan Arndt said. "It's a great thing to be able to see your son or daughter, after having so many physical disadvantages, to be able to perform like that."
Arndt said he is going to take a break from the games to serve an LDS mission in Fort Worth, Texas, for the next two years. He plans to compete in the 2019 World Transplant Games.
