OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – Special Olympics Nebraska held opening ceremonies at DJ Sokol Arena at Creighton University on Thursday.
The yearly event is about more than just sports.
This is the time of year 700 athletes look forward to most.
For more than a decade, Leslie Blank and Michael Graham have made the 5 hour trek from McCook to Omaha for the Nebraska Special Olympics.
The thing they look forward to most is the connection to the other athletes.
\u201cSee all the friends,\u201d Michael said. \u201cIt\u2019s just fun to come back to them all.\u201d
It\u2019s a shared sense of camaraderie.
\u201cIt\u2019s nice to be able to be around people that have the same struggles that I do,\u201d said David Harkey, an athlete ambassador and a longtime athlete himself. \u201cYou know, you could talk to them. And you can just, you can look at somebody and say, that\u2019s a person.\u201d
\u201cWe\u2019re a statewide organization, so if you\u2019re an athlete in Omaha, this may be the only time in the course of a year that you will see your friend from Scottsbluff or your friend from Kearney,\u201c said Carolyn Chamberlain, president of Special Olympics Nebraska. \u201dI love that there is that camaraderie where they so look forward to seeing each other.\u201d
This year, something is missing for Leslie and Michael.
Coach Lynne Kinne is the reason Michael started Special Olympics.
This is the first year going to Omaha without her. She passed away suddenly in March.
\u201cIt\u2019s a little rough, but we\u2019ll get through it,\u201d Michael said.
Leslie says Miss Kinne would\u2019ve wanted them to push through. Leslie said Kinne believed in her athletes, and \u201cI can\u2019t\u201d was never in her vocabulary.
\u201cThere\u2019s no quitting,\u201d Michael said. \u201cEspecially if I quit, she would not be happy.\u201d
So even though things are a little different this year, that sense of excitement stays the same.
\u201cJust, just having a good time. That\u2019s all I want. Just having a good time and just being with my friends,\u201d Michael said.
Over the next couple of days, athletes will stay in the dorms at Creighton before competing in four categories — volleyball, swimming, track and field and gymnastics.
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