Special Olympians return to N.L. from 'experience of a lifetime' with 45 medals
Training, new bonds said to dramatically change athlete's lives
Supporters packed St. John's International Airport on Monday afternoon to welcome home the province's foremost Special Olympics athletes.
Cheers went up as teams arrived, bearing both medals and massive grins.
Bradley Murphy showed off his hardware collection — gold, silver and bronze — for snowshoeing. He ran both the 5K and 10K races in the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Murphy described shaving eight minutes off his previous time in the longer race, which set a personal record. "The best part was winning my gold medal," he said.
This year's games saw 900 athletes descend on Thunder Bay for five days of competition in a variety of sports, from floor hockey to five-pin bowling.
Top performers at the provincial games are selected to represent Newfoundland and Labrador at the national level. Trish Williams, executive director of Special Olympics NL, said athletes train at least three times a week.
Murphy noted that schedule required a lot of motivation. "The biggest challenge is just getting on the snowshoes," he said.
Preparing for the national games, Williams said, often profoundly impacts the athletes. "[It] creates a lot of life-altering things," she said. "We've had athletes that have lost 60 pounds. Athletes that have been able to shave four and five minutes off their personal bests."
N.L. competitors brought home 45 medals in all, Williams said, with about three dozen of them setting personal records.
They also forged connections, with elementary classes in Thunder Bay "adopting" some of the athletes from out of town to give them support from the sidelines.
Murphy, too, left Ontario with a few buddies.
"It was important so I could meet all new friends," he said. "It's the experience of a lifetime."