Special Olympics athlete wins medals on borrowed pink skates

A P.E.I. Special Olympics athlete won four speed-skating medals this week wearing a pair of pink skates borrowed at the last minute when his own modified skates were not permitted.

Jordan Koughan found out just before the opening ceremonies on Tuesday in Thunder Bay, Ont., that he would not be able to compete wearing the skates he brought to the competition. He was told they did not meet technical and safety regulations.

His coach, Kristen MacDonald, asked around the rink if anyone had a pair Koughan could borrow for the week.

She found two pair that would fit. Koughan chose the pink pair that were offered by a 12-year-old boy from Thunder Bay who was volunteering at the games.

"I looked cool," Koughan, 25, said in a phone interview on Saturday. "I'm pretty proud of myself."

It was the first time Koughan had competed wearing real speed skates. He went on to win one gold and three silver medals and set personal best times in the 111, 333 and 500-metre races.

Koughan's regular skates, similar to roller skates but with a speed-skating blade, are modified to have increased support for his ankles. MacDonald said his transition to real speed skates came sooner than planned.

"He just got better with every single race," she said. "The more and more he was on the ice, the faster he was going, the more confidence he had, just groovin' … so a really amazing week for him."

MacDonald is thankful they were able to find the replacement skates. 

"He's worked so hard for a whole season that it was a bit of an emotional roller-coaster Tuesday night to think he might not be able to skate."

Koughan's teammate, Logan Robbins, won gold and bronze in speed skating.

At 16, Robbins is the youngest member of Team P.E.I., which has been racking up medals all week, including a gold in floor hockey on Saturday, the final day of competition.

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