MANITOULIN—Every Manitoulin Special Olympics (MSO) team member who competed in the Ontario Special Olympics Summer Games came home with a medal.
“All our athletes performed their best at the games, they all made new friends and had a great time,” stated MSO team coordinator and coach Janet Anning on Sunday evening, after the team had returned from the provincials, held in Brantford July 10-12.
The Manitoulin Wolverines softball team brought home a bronze medal from the games. “They had to rally and come from behind in the final game against Ottawa, down 9-4, to win 10-9,” said Ms. Anning. MSO won three of its four games.
“Everyone played their best and what was great is that everyone played in every game, and they all came together so well as a team, including two players from Sudbury who were added to the team and fit in very well. It was amazing to watch. And we were so happy to see this team medal because a lot of the players have never been at this level of competition before.”
The MSO Wolverines team included players William Leclair, Rebecca Strain, Emily Moggy, Marybeth Taliotis, Aaron Nickol, Mathieu Bouillon, Michael Cormiere, Jarred Ladouceur, Michael Harper, Dylan Danville, Tyler Madahbee, Jeffery Harper and coaches Roslyn Taylor and Janet Anning.
MSO had three athletes take part in track and field events. Bruce Vanhorn garnered two gold medals in the 200-metre run and the mini-javelin throw; Kelsey Mellan won a gold medal in the mini-javelin throw, and two bronze medals in the shotput and 200-metre run. Matthew Bedard also brought home three medals, gold in the 800-metre run, and silver medals in the 3,000 and 5,000 metre runs. Joanne Mellan was the MSO coach.
“All three athletes posted personal bests, even in the extreme heat,” said Ms. Anning. She pointed out temperatures reached between 35-36°C during the games. “Everyone had a fabulous time except for the extreme heat. Thankfully for our teams, the family members who were on hand to cheer the athletes on, provided ice to keep water bottles cold throughout the weekend.”
