The Hood River Special Olympics Team (left to right): Volunteer Henry Villafana, Dawson Beneventi, Aisayah Mariscal, Niko DeBruin,Sierra Bigelow, Shad Grimsley, Dylan Bigelow, Joe Cannon, Melody Nilson, Head Coach Sandra Andrews, and volunteer Mike Nilson. Not pictured are coaches Chris Donnermeyer and Abby Tomlinson.Contributed photo
The Hood River Special Olympics Team (left to right): Volunteer Henry Villafana, Dawson Beneventi, Aisayah Mariscal, Niko DeBruin,Sierra Bigelow, Shad Grimsley, Dylan Bigelow, Joe Cannon, Melody Nilson, Head Coach Sandra Andrews, and volunteer Mike Nilson. Not pictured are coaches Chris Donnermeyer and Abby Tomlinson.Contributed photo
The Hood River Special Olympics Swim Team participated in the Northwest Oregon Regional Competition Sunday at the Tualatin Hills Aquatic Center in Beaverton. It was the first competition Special Olympics Oregon has held in three years due to the pandemic and the athletes were excited and anxious to get back to some social interaction and competition against teams of developmentally disabled athletes from Clackamas, Clatsop, Multnomah, Wasco/Sherman, Washington and Yamhill counties and the High Desert region.
Among the standout performances were Joe Cannon and Melody Nilson, both winning gold medals in the 25-meter breaststroke and the 25-meter backstroke respectively. Melody was also touched out in the 25-meter freestyle to earn a silver and Dawson Beneventi earned a hard-fought silver medal in the 50-meter freestyle. Niko deBruin, competing in Special Olympics for the first time, earned bronze medals in the 25- and 50-meter freestyle. An amazing feat considering that he could not complete a single length of the pool when he first started practicing three months ago.
Special Olympics welcomes all abilities of swimmers and swimmers-to-be. In the developmental swimming competitions Shad Grimsley won a gold in the 10-meter assisted swim with the help of coach and HRVHS water polo player Abby Tomlinson. Newcomer Aisayah Mariscal won gold in the 15-meter flotation assisted swim.
Head Coach Sandra Andrews was extremely happy with the team’s performance, noting that the spirit of competition show in the fact that every athlete had a personal best time at the event. She noted, “Special Olympics is 'special' in every sense of the word, the team is truly a wonderful group of people, athletes, parents and caretakers alike and I feel fortunate to be taken into the fold”.
Next up for Hood River Special Olympics is the winter season fielding both Snow Sports and Basketball teams. The organization is completely run by volunteers and is in dire need of skiing and snowboarding coaches. Fundamental proficiency in skiing or snowboarding is all that is required. If you would like to volunteer in any capacity, contact Local Program Coordinator Jim Meckoll at hoodriver@soor.org.
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