Four athletes from Special Olympics Central Bruce have embarked on a journey that takes them to the 2020 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games in Thunder Bay, Ont.
Athletes Katie Lesperance and Jacqueline Gravel will compete in cross-country skiing events while Justin LaBlance and Terri Johnston are headed across the city to compete for the medal in five-pin bowling.
Each of these athletes qualified to compete at the 2020 National Games based on their performances in the 2019 Special Olympics Ontario (SOO) Provincial Winter Games, in Sault Ste. Marie for Gravel and Lesperance and in Oshawa for LaBlance and Johnston.
Since their selection to the provincial team, they have been working hard in their Games sports, in cross-training opportunities, and in their other Special Olympics sport programs, that resulted in training at least three times a week or more. It’s been a multi-year journey to reach the national stage, because they also had to train and compete in Regional Qualifiers to earn spots in the 2019 SOO Provincial Games.
The athletes are looking forward to achieving personal bests and bringing home medals from the National Games. Gravel and Lesperance have a chance to qualify to advance to the Special Olympics International Games in February 2021, while the five-pin bowlers do not, given that the sport is unique to Canada. The SOO Canada Winter Games Thunder Bay 2020 will take place February 25 to 29. To watch the Games online, visit http://specialolympics2020.com
The athletes will return home at 10:30pm at Rowland’s Independent Grocer in Port Elgin.
