PHOTO COURTESY SPECIAL OLYMPICS - Christine Sullivan high-fives a judge folllowing her powerlifting competition at the Special Olympics World Games in the United Arab Emirates last week.
srooney@medicinehatnews.com@MHNRooney
Christine Sullivan was so happy with her performance, she went and high-fived a judge.
Mitchell MacDonald was having so much fun, he yelled the same thing on the podium as he had on a roller coaster a few days earlier.
Yes, they came home with medals from the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, but it’s the memories and friendships they’ll carry with them forever.
“I was really proud of myself,” said Sullivan, who won three medals in powerlifting. “It was very fun, I enjoyed it.”
The 52-year-old experienced the world games for the second time, having been to Greece in 2011. For MacDonald, 28, the trip was a first; walking in to the opening ceremonies with upwards of 40,000 people cheering the 109-athlete Canadian team on March 14 was particularly memorable.
Almost as memorable as when he won both singles and doubles 10-pin bowling gold medals later in the week.
“It was exciting and speechless at the same time,” he said. “I stepped on the podium and said ‘wee-ha!'”
Wee-ha? He’d yelled it on a roller coaster during a team outing in Dubai and it stuck, with the bowling squad yelling it anytime someone got a strike, or just for fun.
The two athletes weren’t the only ones from Medicine Hat at the Games. Pat Enns went as an associate coach for the bowling team, but made sure to be in the audience when Sullivan was up to do her toughest lift, the squat.
“She had the best squats I’ve seen in a long time,” Enns said of Sullivan. “I’m in the stands yelling “DOWN DOWN DOWN DOWN” as loud as I can, because those were the ones I was worried about.
“She never timed out, never made an error so she was excited.”
How excited? You’re not really supposed to commiserate with the judges, but there’s photographic evidence that Sullivan broke that rule with the world’s biggest smile on her face.
The judge certainly didn’t seem to mind the faux pas.
“I never did it after because I’m thinking I can’t do this,” said a sheepish Sullivan. “What if I went to jail or something?”
Don’t worry Christine, that was never a possibility. Especially not at an event where bringing the whole world together is pretty much the motto.
For the record, Sullivan’s squat of 70 kilograms didn’t even win her a medal (she was fourth). Her bench press of 57.5 kg and her 122.5 kg deadlift each got her silver medals, while a 250 kg combined score put her third in her division.
MacDonald’s score of 415 pins in singles won him the gold medal, while his doubles score of 992 (paired with Patrick Reid) got another gold. The team finished fifth.
Canadian athletes combined for 155 medals, part of the first-ever Special Olympics World Games held in the Middle East. More than 7,000 athletes from 192 countries took part.
This was supposed to be Sullivan’s swan song as far as the world games were concerned. But now she’s not so sure.
“I said I’m retiring but I’m thinking I might keep practising,” she said. “Not official yet.”
As for MacDonald? His fire has clearly been stoked. He was showing off new shoes and all his medals at Panorama Lanes on Thursday, knocking down pins like they were toothpicks.
“I want to go to the next worlds, it’s in Germany (in four years),” he said.
