Bray teen is off to winter Games
STUART Brierton from Bray is one of 14 Irish Special Olympics athletes busy preparing for the 2013 World Winter Games.
The games will run from January 29 to February 5 in PyeongChang, South Korea.
Alpine skier Stuart is no stranger to success, having won two gold medals in the 2012 Special Olympics Ireland winter games at Kilternan.
The athletes have been busy training for the past number of months to ensure that they are fully prepared and ready for what lies ahead in South Korea.
Stuart is a member of both Bray Lakers and Kilternan Karvers Special Olympics Clubs and has been involved with Special Olympics for the past nine years.
Being selected as a member of Team Ireland for the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea is one of the biggest highlights of Stuart's involvement with Special Olympics and he is determined to do himself proud.
He is also looking forward to meeting with athletes from other countries while he is there.
If he wasn't involved with Special Olympics Stuart says that he would not have had the opportunity to participate in sport - something that is very important to him.
He has achieved a great deal through his participation in Special Olympics and has competed in swimming, bowling and skiing.
In addition to skiing Stuart is very interested in aviation and motor sport so it will come as no surprise that his sporting hero is Michael Schumacher. Stuart's favourite song is U2's 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' while on television he enjoys watching Top Gear and Aircrash Investigation.
Team Ireland will depart for South Korea on Friday January 25 and fans can follow their progress at the Games on www.specialolympics.ie/wintergames.