THUNDER BAY — Thunder Bay athletes made an impact at the Special Olympics Ontario qualifiers held in Huntsville over the weekend for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, bolstering ambitions of making the nationals next year.
The nine area athletes who took part returned from the event Monday with smiles on their faces — and some serious hardware.
For sisters Gabby and Roberta Hannusch, the qualifiers were a chance to push themselves athletically, and more.
“It was a great event,” said Gabby. “I did my best that I’ve ever done. I didn’t think I was going to get silver in my 400, but I did. I was ecstatic when I got the medal at the end.”
Roberta brought home a silver medal in the 800-metre event after entering that race for the first time.
She said sports, and the Special Olympics in particular, play a crucial role in the sisters’ lives for reasons that go beyond athletics.
“I got to see everyone I met from the nationals that was held here [in 2020] again,” she said. “It was just exciting, because you always make new friends, and I still speak to some of those people online or texting once in a while.”
Both are hoping they’ll qualify for the Winter Games that will be held in Calgary next year, either in snowshoeing or one of the other sports in which they compete, like floor hockey.
Noah Filice was thrilled to bring back a haul of three gold medals in the 1, 2.5, and 5-kilometre cross-country ski races on Monday.
After making it to the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games held in Thunder Bay in 2020, Filice said his competitive juices were fired up for the next competition in 2024.
“I hope to compete and do extremely well in the nationals and even the internationals,” he said.
The best part of the experience?
“Probably just trying my best and hoping I could earn something for people to be proud of.”
Cathy Michaliuk, a snowshoe coach with the team, said the event was a showcase for the hard work and determination the athletes put in all year round.
“They did absolutely fantastic, and I’m so very proud of them,” she said. “They practice very hard – we meet weekly and for some of the athletes, we do extra training. They’re also involved in other special Olympic sports and they do cross-training, so they worked hard to get where they were this weekend.”
