Frankfort Kenneth Mokabo (20) from South Africa took part in the SOWWG in Korea as a figure skater (level 1). This year he starts in Graz in level 2. His goal for the next games? Reaching level 3! In his leisure time he also plays football. What's best about Special Olympics? "To show people how I can skate!"
Two times grammy-nominated radio host and author Doc Lewis enjoys the Special Olympics as an honored guest. He is fascinated by the games and has already sent many pictures to local newspapers and TV-stations in his home country California. Doc Lewis feels in a special way connected to the games, as he was born prematurely. "I tell people no matter what handicaps we have, we got all the talent in the world!", Lewis encourages the participants.
Husband Hugh and daugther Elanine support Irish Floor Hockey Team 1 trainer Caroline. Caroline has trained the Irish Special Olympics team for three years now and is very successful - the Irish team 1 became fourth in the first divisioning! For a country in which hockey is a not so important sport this is a great performance.
Jennifer Rose Lee (20, Team Great Britain) has just finished her first round on the ice on Compulsory Level 2 and can be very proud of her performance. Although she went to bed late because of yesterday's opening ceremony, Jennifer isn't tired at all. She says: "It was amazing. My favourite part was walking on the red carpet. I felt proud and glad representing GB. It's an amazing opportunity."Despite not being able to hear anything without her hearing aid, she is an excellent athlete. Besides figure skating she loves horseriding and and after the SO she'd like to come back to Austria for skiing. (in the picture from the left: Jennifer's trainer, Courtney Montgomery and Jennifer Rose Lee)
Mark Schiltz - stocksport Luxembourg: Through the sport Mark met his girlfriend about two years ago. Since January they are officially a couple. His girlfriend Kally Toex starts for Luxembourg in Schladming (alpines), while Mark gives his best in stock sport. During the opening ceremony yesterday evening they saw each other for just a moment. Till march 22nd the two start separate again and fight for medals for their country.
Canada is the third largest team at this year's SOWWG. In figure skating alone compete 18 athletes. Sara McKelvie is one of them and had to face some challanges before participating. In Canada, all athletes have to compete in regional and national championships first to qualify for the games. Today, Sara did a performance, her coach has never seen before. Sara, you can be proud of yourself!
Local hero Andreas Kollmann from Ramsau am Dachstein is looking forward to the Cross Country races. Monday morning the competitions start for him. He feels well prepared and is ready to give everything!
Greek athlet Apostolos Gkovas fell repeatedly at the Super-G race but he never gave up and fought until the finish line. He is incredibly proud of himself!
When the Flame of hope arrived at Ramsau am Dachstein, Ariel Ari from Costa Rica excitedly tells us: My family always supported me in achieving my goals!͟ The 25 year old athlete further says: They taught me to never give up – and I am here because we never give up Ariel Ari is welcomed in Ramsau am Dachstein by other athletes and the audience with a thunderous applause.
Starting number 1 Bruno Gaggiotti lets himself fall down in the finish area of the Super-G snowboarding race. Although exhausted, not even the pouring rain can spoil the World Winter Games for him and he is happy to participate.
Chris Vikene Sanduik, 27, Team Norway, is a part of the floorball team. He is the goalkeeper of his team and started playing floorball a year ago. He participates in the games because he really likes the sport (especially because he can be part of a team) and because he meets new people here in Graz. For him the SO are a process as you start from the bottom and work yourself up. In the games he feels the connection between him and the other players of this team, as they play like a unit which takes care of each other. He wants to tell people, that they should look after others more often.
Crosscountry skier Daniel Knoepfel from Switzerland made it to the finish line. On Monday he celebrated his birthday and when he entered the finish area, he was greeted by a loud Happy Birthday͟ sung by the audience.
Franz Horvath from Austria participates in the snowshoeing races. Despite his visual impairment he is trying hard to apply what he learned during training in the competitions. I was there at every training and everybody had a lot of fun, he says and adds with a mischievous smile: Even though I still can ́t quite take on my snowshoes myself.
Inga, Linda und Bianca ( starting from the left), the companions of the Chinese Delegation. All three of them speaks Chinese and are hooked about the kindness and warmth of the athletes, trainer, families and friends. They also want to work with Special Olympics after the games are over. They are impressed by how fair the athletes from different nations treat each other.
Austrian athlet Josef Baranyai is the oldest participant in the snowshoeing competitions. He is 66 years old and tells us that he is an ambitious sportsman who trains for different sports all year round, among them cycling and playing rounders. He has already won several medals, for example a gold medal for 500m cycling and a silver medal at the cycling time trials. He says: I am proud of every single competition I took part in.
Karin Dickinger from Weibern in Upper Austria has brought her own fan club to Ramsau am Dachstein. She is an excited athlete, as her mum says, and she started today in the 1km cross country race. Karin already participated in the World Winter Games eight years ago in Idaho.
Enri Reismann, Janek Gergalo, (Team Estonia, floorball). Both of them say that all people shall do some sports and the Special Olympics give them the chance to be part of different sport competitions. However, they are very thankful to be part of the games and for all people who cheer for them. Their best experience so far was the moment when they lost the game against Sweden. They realised that also bad things can be good for your experience of life. Enri is also happy to have the chance to play floorball every day.
Ernestas Sakalauskas (on the left), 20, comes from Lithuania and participates in the discipline floor hockey in the Special Olympics. He takes part because he loves floor hockey as well as playing and performing. He attends a school for athletes with impairments and wishes, that more young people would be able to go to such school in order to get the chance to participate in sporting competitions. He really likes that at the Special Olympics World Winter Games everybody speaks the same language - the language of motivation and sport. Ernestas enjoys playing very much and moreover meeting new people in the competition.
Marc Theriault (38 years old, team Canada) has been ice skating for unbelievable 32 years now. These games are his 5th SOWWG but also in the summer games he has participated three times (softball, football, running). "It changed my life for the better. Nobody makes fun of me anymore. We are all people. And people say I'm a role model!", the talented figure skater tells us proudly. He is the first athlete in the history of Special Olympics who managed to do a double jump on the ice.
Muhiirwa Andrew, Uganda, Floor Hockey. The best thing about Special Olympics World Games is for him, that they bring people from so many different countries together. He already had the chance to talk to a friend from America to whom he only had talked about Social Media before. He wants to challenge the world to better support people with impairments in all areas of life.
Pin-Chen Lin, 18, Team Chinese Taipei. One of his teachers encouraged him to play floor hockey and to participate in the Special Olympics. The best thing about the world games for him is that they make the players more self-confident and that they help them to better their social skills every single day. He wants to encourage others to be self-confident and to believe in oneself, as you get stronger (mentally and physically) by it every day. It also helps you find friend, who can help you through your life. He feels so good in his team that he would do any sport with his teammates, no matter how good they are. You instantly realise that when you watch them play - Chinese Taipei celebrate every goal, no matter who scored it.
Rose Laidler (33, Canada) impressed the spectators with her performance! The 12 members of her family, who came her to support her, of course applauded the loudest. Since her fifth birthday Rose knows how to ice skate. She loves getting to know many other athletes through Special Olympics. In her hometown in Canada she works in a pharmacy.
Sean Gibson, Anna Lisa Traboulay, Antonio Sorzano, Trinidad & Tobago: for all three of them it’s the first time they participate in floor hockey, although Anna Lisa and Sean have played football during summer. For them the games give people with different impairments the chance to show what they are capable of. People with and without difficulties come together and they spend a beautiful time. Sean, Anna Lisa and Antonia want to call on people to give each other a chance and to support each other through cheering. They wish for more love and respect and that more people care for others. Moreover they want to show the world that they have more talent than people generally think they have. At the Special Olympics World Winter Games they especially like the opportunity to meet other people and to get to know the food, culture and sights of Austria. For them it’s unbelievable being here and meeting so many people who treat each other respectfully and nicely, because they are linked through their love to sports.
Steven Hidalgo, 20, and Greivin Figueroa, 21, Costa Rica. The beautiful thing about the Special Olympics for them is, that they give people with impairments the chance to perform, take part in a competition, give their best, experience new things, see foreign countries und do sports in a team. For them Austria is a wonderful country full of nice people, who welcomed them with open arms. They will never forget what they experience here, according to them. They can show their skills and watch other athletes compete in the different disciplines.
Team Denmark is for the first time part of the Special Olympics in the discipline figure skating. Six years ago the first danish ice skating project for people with impairments was founded. In the pictures you can see one of the trainers, athletes Emilie Borring and Katja Frejlev and Katjas mother, who is also coach assistant and founder of the project. They all have worked extremely hard, the last few months they have been training four times a week. The trainers get a lot of motivation out of how the sport helps the kids to concentrate themselves and to work hard, so that they can be proud of themselves and role models for other children!
