Special Olympians bring home hardware from Games in Austria
Six Calgary Special Olympians have returned home from the World Winter Games with more than a dozen medals.
For 11 days, thousands of athletes from around the world were in Austria competing in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games. Team Canada won 117 medals, with Calgary athletes bringing home seven gold, four silver and two bronze medals in figure skating, crosscountry skiing and speedskating.
Calgarian JorDen Tyson brought home two medals in figure skating events. Tyson has been figure skating for about four years but this was her first time at the Special Olympics World Winter Games.
“I have a gold and a silver, it feels way cool,” she said of her two medal win. “But I like it because I’ve been going faster ... I was not nervous, I had fun. I made lots of friends for going to Austria.”
Tyson’s aunt, Georgette Dziuba, went to Austria with the team and said the Games are a chance for athletes’ “disabilities to disappear” and turn into abilities.
“To see our girl shine the way she does when she’s on the ice and dancing ... it is amazing to see how she lights up,” Dziuba said.
Tyson has no plans to slow down, and is preparing to compete again in October.
“I kept competing because I kept winning and winning,” an excited Tyson said. “I can’t stop now.”
The World Winter Games, held in Graz, Schladming and Ramsau, Austria, consisted of 2,700 Special Olympics athletes competing in nine events, including alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing.
“They did a fantastic job in Austria,” Dziuba said. Special Olympics “really catered to the athletes and made things really special for them.”
Founded in 1981, Special Olympics Calgary offers 32 programs and 21 different sports year-round to athletes with intellectual disabilities.
With 885 athletes and 392 volunteers, Special Olympics Calgary is the largest Special Olympics affiliate in Alberta. The total participation level in the 32 programs soared to 1,889 participants.