Special Olympics Celebration A ‘Success’
[Written by Stephen Wright]
Sacha Richardson, the Special Olympics Bermuda board chair, said the local athletes who competed in the Special Olympics Celebration “conquered their nerves” and “embraced the occasion” at the USATF Bermuda Grand Prix.
Eight athletes from the organisation performed in front of a packed crowd at the Flora Duffy Stadium on Sunday [April 28], competing in a mixed 200 metres race and a unified 4×100 relay with some of the elite athletes.
Eleah Basden, Kemari Dill, Derek Ingram, Micah Lambert, Zafar O’Loughlin, Iyon Simmons, Exodus Somner, and Eden Woollery were the athletes representing Special Olympics Bermuda.
“The celebration went even better than we anticipated,” Richardson told Bernews.
“Having travelled with most of the athletes to the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin [last summer], I found that they were more nervous competing in front of their home crowd.
“There was a lot of excitement and a few nerves. They had a fantastic time when they walked out and saw the crowd cheering for them.”
In the 200 race, Simmons won in a time of 27.91sec, Ingram finished second in 29.01 and O’Laughlin came third in 29.73.
Simmons, 14, also competed in the Athene Fastest Kid on de Rock, finishing fourth in the boys’ 13 to 14 100 in 13.46.
“I was excited, and a bit nervous,” Simmons told Bernews. “It felt great to win and I was happy with how I did.”
Special Olympics Bermuda won 11 medals at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin last summer.
The next Special Olympics World Games will be in Santiago, Chile, in 2027.
