Ready for the world
Martin leaves for Austria on March 12
Very few athletes are good or lucky enough to wear their nation’s colours.
Daniel Martin will get that experience later this month when he travels to Austria with Team Canada to compete at the Special Olympics World Winter Games.
“He has come so far. A lot of these athletes, once they’re embraced in the Games themselves, that’s when they really get it,” said Cathy Mason, regional co-ordinator for Special Olympics Pictou County.
“My words of advice to them were to enjoy the moment.”
The 19-year-old Martin, who has autism, won two gold medals in the snowshoe competition a year ago at the Canadian Special Olympics winter games, which earned him a ticket to Austria. He warmed up for his European trip by winning three gold medals and a bronze at the provincial winter games last weekend.
At a Thursday send-off for the athlete at the Pictou County Wellness Centre, Martin was wearing his official red-and-white team jacket, as supporters gave him words of encouragement.
Martin does a lot of dryland training, improving his fitness to shave every precious second off his time once he hits the snow in the Austrian mountains. He is one of six Nova Scotians – five athletes and one coach – who are part of the national team.
“He has worked so hard, he really has,” said his proud mother, Tammy Velcoff, who will be making the trip to watch her son perform, as will Daniel’s father, Bill Martin.
She noted that since he joined the Special Olympics program six years ago, Martin has learned to trust and accept the advice of coaches Angela Fogarty and Carla Dumaresq.
The games are being hosted by the cities of Graz and Schladming, situated about an hour apart in the Swiss Alps. They will take place March 18-24.