These athletes are hoping to make N.L. proud at the Summer Special Olympics in Berlin

When teams from around the world will march into Berlin's Olympiastadion for the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics World Summer Games on June 17, four provincial athletes will be in the midst of it all.

One of them is Samantha Walsh of Stephenville, who has been chosen to compete in athletics for Team Canada.

Walsh says she is excited for the Games, and she knows exactly where she is headed — "Berlin, Germany," she said emphatically when asked.

Walsh, who has been a Special Olympian for eight years, will compete in the 100-metre dash and long jump, all while keeping her focus word — "fast" — top of mind.

She is one of 7,000 athletes from 170 countries who will show off their skills in 26 different disciplines at the Games from June 17 to 25. Germany is hosting the Games, which are advertised as the world's largest inclusive sport event, for the first time.

Walsh will be joined by two decades-long Special Olympians — Grand Falls-based golfer Melvin Hanhams, who competes for the Exploits Hurricanes, and powerlifter Daniel Moores of the Corner Brook Vikings — as well as fellow Stephenville native Michael Budden.

Budden, who will compete in the 400-metre dash, 4x400-metre relay and shotput, shares Walsh's excitement about his nomination.

"It took me a few minutes to actually process the information because it was like, 'Wow, I'm going to Berlin,'" said Budden. "All I could think about was how the races are gonna be, what the tracks are gonna be like, what other Special Olympians are like."

While Budden hopes to score gold medals in all his disciplines, for his hometown, he and Walsh are already winners.

"People that I really didn't even know were coming up to me, saying, 'Congratulations, I heard the good news,'" said Budden.

"Pretty much every person I spoke to after it was announced, that's the first thing that they brought up. So, it's been a lot of conversation about it and a lot of, I guess you could say, pizzazz."

Also travelling to Berlin will be chief medical officer Neil Cheeseman as well as powerlifting head coach Jeff Butt and assistant athletics coach Rosemary Ryan.

Ryan, who coaches several members of the Bay St. George Bravehearts, started volunteering with Special Olympics 18 years ago after spotting athletes at a track meet. She said it's a "heartwarming" experience.

"You watch them finish a race or land a jump or get the first medal, it's like, there's always a trickle of a tear. It's hard to hold back. They're just so inspiring," she said.

While she is rooting for all 89 national athletes competing in Berlin, she called herself "fortunate" to have two athletes from her home team selected to represent Canada. And even though winning medals is always a goal for coaches and athletes alike, it's not Ryan's main focus.

"At the end of the day, it's really and truly about the fun of it," she said. "You want them to have personal best times, you want them to feel accomplished when they finish. And if that means a medal around the neck, we're going to be applauding, no doubt."

Ryan knows what she's talking about. At the 2019 Summer Games in Abu Dhabi City, United Arab Emirates, she already served as assistant coach — a "life-changing" experience she said she will never forget.

"It was the most heartwarming thing I've ever done in my life. I've coached a lot of national meets, a lot of provincial meets but there was nothing like the moment of going to a meet with 170 countries and watching that many Special Olympians cross the line, and finish their throws and their jumps," said Ryan.

"It was very emotional to see the resilience of so many athletes around this world."

Now, having been selected once again, Ryan feels "blessed" — especially after spending 18 months preparing the snowshoe team for the 2022 World Winter Games in Kazan, Russia, that ended up being cancelled.

"I can't even explain it. You just get a little pit in your belly that says, 'Hey, you're going again,'" she said.

"The thoughts that each of these athletes were going to get to experience what I already did, and that I would help lead that again, it was just overwhelming with excitement."

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