MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — A few Morgantown residents brought home some hardware from the 2018 National Special Olympics in Seattle.
Kristian Rowan, Danielle Cottingham and Scarlet Bazzle, all residents of Morgantown, represented W.Va. and competed against 4,000 athletes across the country in the 2018 National Special Olympics competition.
“It was such a heartwarming experience,” said head coach Lindsay Hinkle on WAJR’s Morgantown AM. “Probably every day I had tears in my eyes just watching them. ESPN was there, they were on ESPN, they were on the jumbo-tron and no matter if they came in first or last place, they were all excited and just excited to be there and cheered their teammates on and everything. It was awesome.”
The girls were among 22 other coaches and athletes from around the state that competed in swimming and bowling events where they all brought home awards.
Cottingham and Rowan had to compete against one another in swimming events, but that didn’t affect their performance or their friendship.
“We’re still best friends all the time,” Cottingham said. “When the race was over, we just hugged and high-fived.”
Hinkle was on her high school swimming team when she started volunteering with the Special Olympics swim coach. Shortly after, she became the assistant coach. She then took over the head coach position and has been the head coach for 15 years.
The team started training for the state competition in March and continued training through several months to prepare for nationals. However, they swim almost all year round when they take private lessons with a swim coach.
When asked if they’d want to participate in the next national competition, Rowan said “I think so.”
Cottingham was more confident in her decision.
“Yeah, I’d do it again, I guess,” she said. “I’m happy. I loved Seattle.”
The Olympics were more than just a competition for some.
“Just to show that they can do anything that anyone else can, and they work just as hard if not harder than others to get to that point and they’re capable of anything as well,” Hinkle said.
Anyone interested in getting involved with the Special Olympics should seek out the Monongalia County Special Olympics Facebook page or reach out to Stepping Stones for information.
Story by Hannah Williams