April 15, 2002

A brighter shade of gold

By Sandra MacGregor
smacgre3@uwo.ca

Lynn Madsen is a very quiet girl. Ask her about her job or her hobbies and she has little to say. She simply looks over at her mother and waits for her to fill in the silences.

Madsen strokes photo albums that she holds closely; there is something in there she wants to talk about. But she won't broach the subject on her own.

At 35, Madsen still lives with her mother and it is unlikely that she will ever live on her own. There are subtle signs that she is somehow different from most women her age. But her exterior appearance, with her short brown hair, pretty eyes and average build, offers no clues as to what makes her different.

Getting to know Madsen is difficult. Even her mother's encouraging glances do little to overcome her shyness.

It is not until Madsen opens her photo album to reveal 15 years worth of pictures and awards from various athletic events, that Madsen begins to reveal herself. Words are not her strength but she excels at bowling and swimming, at challenging herself and at competing. Madsen begins to smile.

She is anxious to show off her athletic successes and her defeats. She is proud that she participates in sports--win or lose. With the pictures spread out before her, Madsen is very animated but her silence remains. She will now answer yes or no to any questions but she will not say much more. Madsen believes the pictures should speak for themselves. And they do. Madsen is a Special Olympian.

She is among the approximately 20,000 Special Olympians presently registered in Canada. And she is one of nine London area athletes who will be participating in the 2002 Canadian National Summer Games in Prince Albert, Sask., in July.

The one essential prerequisite to be a Special Olympian is that the athlete must have a mental disability. Unlike the paralympics, which is often confused with the Special Olympics, most Special Olympians do not have a physical disability.

Registered Special Olympians compete in a variety of community based sports programs. Regional meets occur frequently and the strongest competitors then move on to compete at the national level.

National Olympic competitions are divided into summer and winter games and are held every four years. Summer games include such sports as track and field, five and 10 pin bowling, rhythmic gymnastics and softball. Winter sports include alpine skiing, snowshoeing and floor hockey. At the Nationals, Madsen will be competing in the bowling events.Those who are successful at the National level continue on to the World Special Olympics, which is also held every four years.

The 2003 World Summer Games will be held in Dublin, Ireland. Over 7,000 athletes are expected to attend. Athletes from such diverse places as Africa, Asia and South America will participate.

Many would be surprised to find that the Special Olympics attracts such a diverse array of nationalities and large number of athletes. To an outsider, the Special Olympics appears to reside in obscurity, an athletic event in danger of disappearing. Of course, the same was once thought of women's sports. Certainly the Special Olympics does not garner the attention that the original Olympics does. It would be wrong, however, to assume that this lack of attention on behalf of the public means that the Special Olympics is a marginalized event that will eventually disappear under the weight of its more famous cousin.

"The Special Olympics continues to grow. There are more countries joining, more businesses wanting to support us and more volunteers," says Bill Mills, the treasurer and a volunteer for the London office of the Ontario Special Olympics. "It is the largest amateur sporting event in the world," he adds.

The number of countries that vie to host the Special Olympics, and the energy and money the countries put into bidding, would seem to support Mills' contention. Shanghai, China and New York have already started the bidding process for the summer 2007 games. For many of the countries that host the Special Olympics, the sporting event is the largest cultural and sporting event in that country's history.

The Canadian Special Olympics national chapter, located in Toronto, also does not appear to be worrying about the future of this unique sporting event. Office manager for the Canadian Special Olympics, Susan Muller, says the organization is confident that the Special Olympics will continue to be valued as a major sporting event in its own right.

"I would not say the Special Olympics is overshadowed by the Olympics; they are parallel. Both are about sports fitness, achievement and camaraderie," says Muller.

However, both Mills and Muller admit that the media do not appear to take nearly as much interest in the Special Olympics as the organization would like. It is not usually until the World Games that the event is given extended media coverage and even then it is usually only the local media that devote extensive coverage to the event.

To fill in where the media leave off, and to capture more public attention, chapters at all local, provincial and national levels have made promoting the Special Olympics of paramount importance. The various chapters do extensive fundraising, raise awareness at area schools and send out newsletters. They also host various sporting activities throughout the year which help to draw attention to the Special Olympics.

And their efforts to increase public awareness may be paying off. Glenna Madsen, Lynn's mother, has noticed that interest from the media has increased over time. "I remember that for many years the athletes would be boarding the train going off to provincial or national competitions and no media would come. Now they come out. We've even been on the six o'clock news."

Promotion of the Special Olympics is not just focused on members of the general public. Another key mandate of the CSO is to attract more attention from individuals who are mentally challenged.

"Canada now has 23,000 registered athletes however, that makes up only three per cent of people with mental disabilities," says Muller. "Our mandate is to increase those numbers."

Muller points out that, previously, people were not as forthcoming about a member of their family having a mental disability and were reluctant to have a child publicly participate in sports that would draw attention to their condition. Although this remains a problem, as awareness of Special Olympics increases, Muller says that more athletes are registering with the organization.

Though the Special Olympics continues to grow, athletes toil in relative obscurity. Of course, the same could be said for the majority of athletes involved in the Olympics. There is, however, one important difference. For the majority of Special Olympians their obscurity is seldom noticed, and even more rarely mourned by the athletes themselves.

Indeed these athletes, with their emphasis on fun and camaraderie and their ability to define success in a variety of ways, uphold well traditional Olympic values. "The athletes who win medals don't expect to get large endorsement contracts," says Mills, reflecting on the difference between athletes. "And there is no drug testing."

"You rarely see anyone disappointed about not getting a medal. There is such great sportsmanship," says Glenna Madsen. "Often all athletes get a ribbon just for participating and they are as happy as if they just won the gold."

In fact, few athletes appear to make a distinction between the provincial, national or world level of competition. In a rare talkative moment, when Madsen is asked if she is concerned about winning a medal at the upcoming Nationals, she replies, "I'm going more for fun than medals."

Among the London Special Olympians who will be joining Madsen at the Nationals this summer is Tim Telfer, 32. Unlike Madsen, he is effusive in his description of his love of sports and his fellow athletes. Like Madsen, his appearance and demeanour give no indication that he is mentally challenged. Stereotypes do not belong here.

Photo by Sandra MacGregor

Tim Telfer waits for friends at his Wednesday night bowling game.

Although it is the swimming event Telfer will be competing in at the Nationals, he definitely has a passion for bowling. Surrounded by the sound of fellow bowlers, he is clearly in his element. Greetings of "Hey, Tim" and "Tim, how's it going?" ring throughout the alley. The bowling alley manager comes over to say hi. Telfer is a leader.

Questions about the importance of Special Olympics draw articulate and enthusiastic responses from Telfer. He has been competing in sports for 20 years and has already been to the Nationals several times but it is not his awards he wants to speak about. Nor does he have much to say about the contrasting popularity of traditional Olympics or whether the Special Olympics has a future. Telfer wants to discuss fun and friends.

"Most of us are there for fun and to meet people and hang around. If I win,. I win, If I lose, I lose," Telfer says as his attention is drawn away momentarily by a call for advice from another bowler. "I just hope I do well."

Telfer's outlook is one shared by many Special Olympians and gave rise to the organization's motto "Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

If fun and friends are the athletes' focus, nationalism certainly is not. At the World Special Olympics, an athlete's nationality is not emphasized. "They don't even really keep track of how many medals each country has," says Mills. "The Games are a celebration of athletes and their individual accomplishments, not their nationalities."

Like other athletes, Special Olympic participants are judged on their performance times however, competitors have numerous opportunities to get a good score because of the way their performance is rated. Athletes are divided into levels based on gender, age and fitness levels. There are even athletes over the age of 40 still competing. Within each group, gold, silver and bronze medals are awarded and all athletes get a plaque or ribbon for competing. This method allows all athletes to feel as though they have competed well and are successful.

In London, there are over 275 registered Special athletes. And these London athletes may very well have a special place in the heart of the man who inspired the Special Olympics, Canadian Dr. Frank Hayden. Hayden conceived of the idea for the Special Olympics while living in London, and is said to refer to the city as "the birthplace of the Special Olympics."

In the early '60s Hayden began to conduct research into the fitness levels of people with mental disabilities. Contrary to popular thinking at the time, Hayden believed that people with mental disabilities were capable of significantly increasing their fitness levels. Hayden's research confirmed his belief. His studies showed that poor fitness performance was due to a sedentary lifestyle and not something inherently connected to mental disability.

Hayden's research on the benefits of physical fitness for the mentally challenged came to the attention of the Kennedy Foundation. The foundation was inspired by Hayden's work and in 1968 the Special Olympics was created.

Now, 35 years later, perhaps even Hayden himself could not have predicted the amazing difference involvement in sports would make in these athletes' lives. The benefits the athletes receive from their involvement in sports goes beyond better physical fitness.

"By participating in sports they get skills and confidence to fully participate in their community. They don't have to go home and be alone and just watch TV," said Mills. He also points out that the travel opportunities athletes receive is another benefit. "A lot of these folks have been places some of us only dream of being."

But it is not just the athletes who benefit from their participation in sports. Their biggest fans--their parents and guardians--also reap rewards. "From a parent's point of view, the Special Olympics program also provides us with a great support group. We share similar experiences," says Madsen. "The athletes make friends and the parents make great friends too."

Lynn smiles at her mother, perhaps acknowledging that participating in the Special Olympics has given them both many gifts. Still silent, she pulls from the album a gold medal she won in a competition and puts it around her neck. Her smile says it all.