Special Olympian to open winter games

Special Olympian bestowed honor of opening games

Joe Persavich deals with autism but has been a consistent competitor and winner in the Special Olympics for 13 years.

But the 36-year-old might shy away if you call him exceptional. Rather, the accomplished athlete claims he merely likes to stay busy.

“It keeps my mind off negative things. That’s why I do sports. I like to be active, stay in shape and not sit around and get fat,” he said.

His schedule not only includes strong participation in sports, but also volunteering plus holding down a job. So, there’s little time left for sitting around.

Persavich recently earned two medals in skiing competitions at the 2019 Winter Special Olympics held at Brandywine Ski Resort.

Of the several sports in which he participates, skiing lands at the top of the list.

“Every time I’m on the hill I get so relaxed,” he said. Everything just melts away. It’s like ‘Ahhh!’ This is my favorite.”

Along with his competition and medals, this year’s Special Olympics offered Persavich another thrill.

He was chosen to carry the Flame of Hope torch and light the cauldron which officially opened the games.

“I thought I’d never do that. When I found out I could I was ecstatic. I was honored,” he said.

Chris Bundy, Lake County Special Olympics’ local coordinator, has worked with Persavich throughout several Special Olympics and nominated him for the honor.

Bundy said that Persavich is a really good all-around skier and athlete and deserved the privilege.

The special athlete lives in Garrettsville and receives services from the Portage County Board of Developmental Disabilities, but takes part in Special Olympics through the Lake County board.

This year 145 athletes represented 14 local programs from around Ohio. Lake County was represented by 21 athletes, including unified (individuals without intellectual disabilities), competing in downhill skiing, speed skating, figure skating and cross-country skiing.

Special Olympics promote unified sports for the purpose of social inclusion through shared training and competition experiences.

“I think the neat part is that a lot of people want to be meaningfully involved and this gives them the opportunity to not just coach but actually participate,” said Lynnmarie LandweiPhillips, directions of public relations and professional services for the Lake County Board of Developmental Disabilities/Deepwood.

Bundy noted that the support from the Lake County board plays a significant part in the ability of athletes to participate in the games by covering transportation and overhead expenses.

“We are one of the top three or four as far as numbers go,” Bundy said. “We have one of the largest delegations.”

Throughout the year fundraisers take place to help defray costs. Among them is a Strides of March Big Footer and 5K Walk set for March 31. The 3.1-mile course is paved and runs through the Deepwood Campus near the Great Lakes Mall in Mentor.

Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing yearround training and competitions to 5 million athletes and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.

For more information on the Lake County board, visit www.lakebdd.org.

SUBMITTED Special Olympics athlete Joe Persavich holds the Torch of Hope during the opening ceremony of the 2019 Ohio Winter Special Olympics. Persavich was chosen to light the ceremonial cauldron for the games.