Post by kaya on Mar 9, 2005 4:08:33 GMT -5
Impressive display! - Three-gold Tamara Mitchell leads Ja in medal feast
2005 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD WINTER GAMES
Observer Reporter
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Jamaican athletes have a knack for creating miracles. Now, it is the turn of the Special Olympians - in the snow.
Jamaica, who teamed up with neighbours Trinidad and Tobago as the Caribbean representatives, mined four gold, one silver, and six bronze medals at the eight-day 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
Leading the way for Jamaica were three-time gold medallist Tamara Mitchell, who won the 100 metres, 200 metres and 300 metres in speed ice skating category, and Testa Johnson, who won gold in the 500 metres and silver in the 330 metres in the same category.
FOR COURAGE: Testa Johnson (third left) displays his fifth-place ribbon in the presence of (from left) Shelia McDowell of Air Jamaica, Olympian Aleen Bailey, Tamara Mitchell and Sheryl Simpson, Digicel's marketing communications officer, shortly after arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday. (Photo: Karl McClarty)
The other six Jamaican athletes, Kirk Dockery, Sidney Manyan, Dwayne Rutherford, Kabious Smiley, Phamian Daye, and Richard Morgan won bronze medals as part of the floor hockey team, at the February 26 - March 5 meet.
That team beat Venezuela for third place in the Games.
The athletes, who returned home yesterday, were accompanied by coaches Jean Pennington and Orville McCarthy.
The Games are for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Eighty-four countries/regions participated, comprising 1800 athletes in snow competitions, ice competitions and floor competitions.
Snow competition is comprised of alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. For the ice competition, it is speed skating and figure skating, and the floor competition comprises floor hockey. Pennington was a picture of joy as she presented her successful athletes upon arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday morning.
"The competition was good, and our preparation was very good, which paid off," Pennington said.
"The athletes were very good, they gave of their best,' she added, noting that many people were surprised by the high standard of the Jamaicans, considering that these athletes are not accustomed to snow/ice.
"Tamara (Mitchell) had the fastest time over 200 metres for females," she boasted, adding that Johnson received a fifth place ribbon for his bravery, after he fell in the 300 metres, but got back up to finish the race with the fifth fastest time.
The athletes spent two weeks in Japan, in an effort to get acclimatised to the freezing conditions.
Pennington noted that on occasions, the weather dropped to below -4 degrees, but the athletes "acquitted themselves well" after about two days.
"After that some of them only wore a T-shirt," she explained.
The successful team, which was sponsored by Digicel and Air Jamaica, was greeted by Jamaican Olympic gold medallist and Digicel spokesperson Aleen Bailey; Sheryl Simpson, Digicel's marketing communications officer; Shelia McDowell of Air Jamaica and Lorna Bell of Special Olympics.
Taken from Jamaica Observer
www.jamaica observer.com
2005 SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD WINTER GAMES
Observer Reporter
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Jamaican athletes have a knack for creating miracles. Now, it is the turn of the Special Olympians - in the snow.
Jamaica, who teamed up with neighbours Trinidad and Tobago as the Caribbean representatives, mined four gold, one silver, and six bronze medals at the eight-day 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan.
Leading the way for Jamaica were three-time gold medallist Tamara Mitchell, who won the 100 metres, 200 metres and 300 metres in speed ice skating category, and Testa Johnson, who won gold in the 500 metres and silver in the 330 metres in the same category.
FOR COURAGE: Testa Johnson (third left) displays his fifth-place ribbon in the presence of (from left) Shelia McDowell of Air Jamaica, Olympian Aleen Bailey, Tamara Mitchell and Sheryl Simpson, Digicel's marketing communications officer, shortly after arriving at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday. (Photo: Karl McClarty)
The other six Jamaican athletes, Kirk Dockery, Sidney Manyan, Dwayne Rutherford, Kabious Smiley, Phamian Daye, and Richard Morgan won bronze medals as part of the floor hockey team, at the February 26 - March 5 meet.
That team beat Venezuela for third place in the Games.
The athletes, who returned home yesterday, were accompanied by coaches Jean Pennington and Orville McCarthy.
The Games are for athletes with intellectual disabilities. Eighty-four countries/regions participated, comprising 1800 athletes in snow competitions, ice competitions and floor competitions.
Snow competition is comprised of alpine skiing, cross country skiing, snowboarding and snowshoeing. For the ice competition, it is speed skating and figure skating, and the floor competition comprises floor hockey. Pennington was a picture of joy as she presented her successful athletes upon arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday morning.
"The competition was good, and our preparation was very good, which paid off," Pennington said.
"The athletes were very good, they gave of their best,' she added, noting that many people were surprised by the high standard of the Jamaicans, considering that these athletes are not accustomed to snow/ice.
"Tamara (Mitchell) had the fastest time over 200 metres for females," she boasted, adding that Johnson received a fifth place ribbon for his bravery, after he fell in the 300 metres, but got back up to finish the race with the fifth fastest time.
The athletes spent two weeks in Japan, in an effort to get acclimatised to the freezing conditions.
Pennington noted that on occasions, the weather dropped to below -4 degrees, but the athletes "acquitted themselves well" after about two days.
"After that some of them only wore a T-shirt," she explained.
The successful team, which was sponsored by Digicel and Air Jamaica, was greeted by Jamaican Olympic gold medallist and Digicel spokesperson Aleen Bailey; Sheryl Simpson, Digicel's marketing communications officer; Shelia McDowell of Air Jamaica and Lorna Bell of Special Olympics.
Taken from Jamaica Observer
www.jamaica observer.com