Special Olympians Return Home to Warm Reception
(ZIZ News) – St. Kitts and Nevis’ Special Olympians returned to the federation on Tuesday following their successful participation in the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
A welcome reception, led by Prime Minister the Hon. Dr. Timothy Harris, was held at the VIP Lounge at the R.L.B International Airport.
With a total of 23 medals around their necks, the Special Olympians had much to be proud of.
The 2015 games were held in Los Angeles, California from July 25 – August 2nd.
During the welcome reception, Minister of State in the Ministry of Social and Community Development, Hon. Wendy Phipps commended the athletes on their success.
She said, “I just wanted to congratulate you in everything that you do and in the simple ways that you may go about your lives but the meaningful ways in which you enhance St. Kitts and Nevis in being wonderful ambassadors for us and in terms of setting a good example for all the young people in terms of what is possible; to showcase the good that we can do because we hear so many other negative about our youths in St. Kitts and Nevis, that these are examples that we can emulate.”
Head of the Special Olympics Delegation, Ivor Blake thanked the St. Kitts and Nevis public for the support given to the team before and during the games.
“I just want to say thank you for all the support we’ve had back here. I made an effort to try to contact as much as I can, particularly the parents, to update them on the progress. And we have had a flood of support on Facebook, on Whatsapp, all over and in emails and I would like to thank you the fans and the parents for supporting our athletes,” he noted.
Prime Minister Harris, who travelled to the U.S. to meet the team, said he’s proud of the achievements of the nation’s special athletes.
“We congratulate them because truly, their performances have been exceptional,” Dr. Harris stated.
“They brought glory to the name of St. Kitts and Nevis and they brought a large 23 medals to St. Kitts and Nevis…11 of those medals, the largest number was gold medals,” he added.
The welcome reception was also attended by Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Ionie Liburd-Willet, members of the National Special Olympics Board and family and friends of the Olympians.