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Let the Spirit Begin
| Article
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14158 |
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Section : |
LIFE
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| Issue
Date : |
1 / 1988 |
2,185 Words |
| Author
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Sheila Dinn
Sheila Dinn is a public affairs coordinator at the Special
Olympics international headquarters. |
He was out in front and he knew it, smiling in anticipation of a first-place medal. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the field, far behind in the 800-meter walk. It seemed that another racer was gaining on him, and he panicked. The measured race-walking gait became a run as he crossed the finish line.
A few minutes later, Fran Gargiulo had to explain to her son Jim that the Judges had to disqualify him and that he wouldn't get an award because he had run instead of walked. His chin went down and then back up; he turned to applaud the winners in his heat.
Jim's story is not a sad one, nor is it the story of a loser. Rather, it is the story of Special Olympics. The spirit that fueled Jim's cheers as he watched that awards presentation was the same spirit that literally united the world at the 1987 International Summer Special Olympics Games, held from July 31 through August 8 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
More than 4,700 athletes from the United States and 70 countries competed in 14 sports at the international games, which are held every 2 years and alternate between summer and winter competitions. First-time entries included the People's Republic of China, Yugoslavia, Nicaragua, and Zimbabwe. Competitors ranged in age from 8-year-old equestrian athlete Julie Burton to 81-year-old Marie Gretter, a spitfire bowler from North Dakota.
Young and old, the athletes were guided by the Special Olympics oath: "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." The simple words carried a powerful message for the individuals with mental retardation who competed at the games--and for the one million athletes like them who participate in Special Olympics sports training and competition year-round and world-wide.
It is obviously no everyday sporting event. Where are the medal counts? The international bickering and threats of boycotts? The drug testing and inevitable controversy? The preening winners who know endorsements and riches are right around the track?
Those trappings of "sport" were nowhere near Notre Dame during the week. Instead, there was the relay team from Cuba linking arms with the foursome from North Carolina for their coaches' cameras. There was Billy Ray Stone, a stellar gymnast from North Carolina who so enthusiastically hugged and congratulated his fellow competitors in the men's
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