BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – NEWS reaching this publication states that Team St. Kitts and Nevis has so far won 23 medals at this year’s Special Olympics Summer Games currently being held in Los Angeles, California.
According to National Director Special Olympics Ivor Blake, who also heads the Federation’s delegation, the local athletes have made the nation proud.
“We are almost at the end of an extraordinary 14-days experience here at the World Games. Our athletes have done us proud…and in the process we all have seen that through play we learn sportsmanship, team-building, persistence, character, determination and friendship.”
He opined that words could take you far, “but seeing the faces of the athletes of Special Olympics takes you to their world”
The Federation’s athletes participated in Track and Field events as well as in Tennis, Swimming and Bocce competitions.
Blake said the team has won 11 gold, 10 silver and two bronze medals.
In the Track and Field events, the athletes captured four gold, three silver and two bronze medals, with Roger Crawford copping bronze in the 100m and gold in the 200m events, while Jamor Merchant won gold in the 100m event and placed fifth in the 200m.
Jamor Merchant also won gold in the 100m and a silver medal was won by Roger Crawford, Merchant, Nick Dias and Soranlli Zacarias in the 4X100m Relay. Zacarias then went back and won himself two gold medals in the 100 and 400-metre events, while Dias placed fourth in the 100m.
On the distaff side, Shontelle Hazel only managed to place sixth and seventh in the 100m and 200m respectively. However, competing in the Field events, she copped silver in Shot Put, while teammate Dias placed fifth in the male category of that event.
In the Tennis (singles) competition, the athletes won two gold and two silver medals. Gold was won by Leon Silcott and Dionte Foster, while Danny Blake and Sisqo Phillip took silver.
Six medals were won in the BOCCE competition.
In the Singles event of this competition, Constance Bagnall and Berenice Jimenez won themselves gold and Rojem Felix earned silver, while Letisha Davis placed sixth.
Rojem, Berenice, Ketisha and Constance captured gold in the Team event. Gold was also won by Lethisha Davis and Constance Bagnall in the Doubles event while Berenice Jimenez and Rojem Felix took silver.
And in the Swimming competition, Team St. Kitts and Nevis won five medals.
Lemuel Hobson won himself gold in the 50m Backstroke and joined Joseph Mason, Jaren Pryce and Kemuel to take gold in the 4X25m Freestyle Relay.
Two silver medals were won by Mason and Pryce in the 50m Individual Freestyle and 100m Individual Medley events respectively, while Pryce earned another medal, bronze, in the 100m Individual Freestyle event.
The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games opened on July 25 in Los Angeles, California and features competition in Aquatics, Gymnastics, Track and Field, Basketball, Football and many other sports discipline involving 6 500 athletes with intellectual disabilities from around the world.
