Another unforgettable moment for Casey was watching Floressa Harris compete against some of the best Special Olympic runners in the country, and winning a gold medal in an event widely considered not to be her best.
“Floressa had a very strong Games. She recorded a personal-best time in the 800-metre run, and she ran against the best in the country. She didn’t medal, but she was in the very top division, and ran against the fastest girls in the country,” said Casey. “Watching her win gold in the shot put was pretty exciting, because it was so unexpected — it’s not Floressa’s strength. We talked to her before her throw and told her not to hold anything back, and to leave it all out there on the field. There’s a line in the Unstoppable (Olympic Mix) song that goes ‘…dig down deep,’ and that’s what she did. You could see it when she threw it, it was an absolutely amazing throw, and she was really, really excited.”
When it came to Austin, there isn’t much not to love. The Gander Wings athlete is considered to be the character of the group, and it’s not surprising to see him break into song and dance at any particular moment. At nationals, Austin made such a quick impact he earned himself a nickname.
“Mike Austin ran really well on his sprint, and medalled in both the 100- and 200-metre events,” said Casey. “He was just moving on the track, and did so well he earned the nickname Mike Awesome…and that stuck for the entire week.”
In total, the efforts from the local athletes stems from two years of preparation. Casey said although she got to travel with the team, the many trainers who dedicated their time getting the athletes ready deserve a lot of credit.
“It was a wonderful sense of accomplishment, and I’m very, very proud of our athletes. I was the lucky coach — I was the travelling coach — so I got to see the smiles, give the high fives, and share the tears of joy at an event like this, but the training coaches deserve more of the credit for training our athletes two or three times a week, and pushing them on the hard days. This experience is certainly one I won’t forget anytime soon.”
Now that nationals is in the history book, Casey is waiting to hear if any of the Gander Wings Special Olympians will get a nod to represent Canada at the Special Olympics World Games.
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