The Tribune

By RENALDO DORSETT

Tribune Sports Reporter

rdorsett@tribunemedia.net

TEAM Bahamas returned home after competing in the Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Florida.

Special Olympics Bahamas claimed six medals and competed in four disciplines at the week-long event, hosted at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.

The dynamic bocce duo of Vashni Thompson and Stephen Russell won gold in the team event.

Individually, Russell won gold in the men’s singles while Thompson won bronze in women’s singles.

“It is truly an experience that I’ll never forget,” Russell said. “It was fun to play with [Thompson], she’s really good, she was excited to play and I told her that as long as we kept focusing on the game we would be okay.”

Thompson added: “These games were really important to us. We kept our minds focused on training, to pay attention to where the ball needed to be placed. [Russell] helped me to not be nervous, keep my head up high and do what I have to do. He’s an amazing bocce player and I loved working with him.”

In athletics, Deron Forbes won gold in the 400m and was fifth in the 200m. “I feel blessed. They call me the 400m champ,” he said. “We have good fellowship, good teamwork, good coaches, good support and good fans.”

In bowling, Bronson Aranha won bronze in the men’s singles division M12 while Austin Green placed fourth in men’s singles division M5. They placed seventh in doubles.

“My experience was great,” Green said. “I had a really good time, met some new friends, met some new coaches and I learned new things on this trip. The competition was good but at the end of the day I did my best.”

The soccer team won gold and defeated Special Olympics Ohio 4-3 in the tournament finale.

“I’m very happy that I get to take a gold medal back to Grand Bahama,” soccer player Justin Miller said.

“The teams were pretty hard, there were times when I thought we were going to lose but we had to pull through.”

Head coach Mark Hardy said the athletes excelled both on and off the field. “The team has done fantastic. We set a few goals, having fun, meeting new people, building teamwork and camaraderie and we were able to achieve all of those,” he said.

“The team had a fantastic time, made good friends so it was just a wonderful time, absolutely brilliant.”

The event featured more than 5,500 athletes competing in front of nearly 130,000 spectators and supporters.

This edition marked the first year that international countries were invited to participate in the Special Olympics USA Games.

Gilbert Williams, national director for Special Olympics Bahamas, lauded the performances of the team across all disciplines, and thanked the Bahamian public for their support of the programme. “The team performed extremely well in Orlando, and outside of those performances, the athletes thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

“For many of them this was their first time travelling to the USA, for some of them this was their first time at Disney, entering the parks and for others this was their first time competing internationally,” he said.

“With all that being said, it was a great competition, a great time and it deserves a great celebration.

“We appreciate all the support that we have gotten thus far and with your continued support, our athletes will continue to shine and make The Bahamas proud,” he added.