Taupo¯ pair win Olympic gold
“Oh blow me down, we got the gold!”
This was the reaction of Dave Hawke when he and his son Roger took the first placing in golf in the Special Olympics.
Wellington hosted the New Zealand National Special Olympics from November 27 to December 1, and Taupo¯ had its own team of athletes competing.
The team competed in ten-pin bowling and swimming over the four days and came home with five gold, eight silver and three bronze medals, as well as a number of placings from fourth to eighth.
One member, Caleb Ashford, who played his first tournament that week, got two four-baggers in ten-pin bowling from four strikes in a row.
Local teen Cuda Tawhai, 13, also came home with four medals, one gold, two silver and a bronze for his efforts in the pool.
Auretta O’Carroll, chairperson of Special Olympics Taupo¯, said it was a good time.
“Everybody enjoyed themselves.”
Turangi man Dave Hawke and his son Roger competed in Unified 9 Holes in golf, where a Special Olympian plays alternate shots alongside a golfer who can coach them as they play a round.
Roger started in the Special Olympics when he was 14 competing in swimming. Now 47, he recently decided to take up golf following his father and brother. From training at the Institute of Golf in the North Shore, Roger and his father qualified for the National Games through the Regional Games in Taupo.
Dave said it was a surprise to hear they’d won because the competitors didn’t know the results until the announcement at the end of the event.
“It’s not like running a race where you know what you’re going to come . . . you feel sympathy for the other competitors.”
Dave said it was very special to play and win with his son.