Go for the gold
The winter has been busy for two USU Special Olympics athletes. Mary Dawn Wait, a member of the cross country ski team, and Andrew Leatham, a member of the snowshoe team, have been using the snow to prepare to take the international stage as athletes in the 2001 Special Olympics Winter Games.
Sunday, they joined Team USA – 472 athletes and 146 coaches representing all 50 states and Washington, D.C. – and more than 2,000 athletes, 750 coaches, 7,000 family members and 5,500 volunteers from 80 nations around the world for the Games’ opening ceremonies.
For the past four months, training has been intense – two hours in the field every weekend and an hour or more of weight and aerobic training at the Sports Academy once or twice a week.
Wait has loved the training regimen, she said, and can feel the difference in her performance.
“I love the exercise, and the weather and the mountains,” she said.
Waite has been skiing for 14 years; for the past two she’s worked especially hard, bringing marked improvement to her performance and fitness levels, said David Bergenzer, a USU math professor and coach of the Special Olympics cross country ski team. He’s worked with her from the begining and is constantly astonished by her progression, he said.
“I can remember the days when she didn’t know a cross-country ski from a surf board, and now she could basically train independently,” he said.
The Special Olympics World Games are every bit as competitive as their larger counterpart, said Mike Rice, competition director for Special Olympics Utah. The committee from Special Olympics Utah that chose Waite and Leatham to represent the Southwestern region in their sports on Team USA were looking for top athletes – not only medal-winners, but athletes they knew could and would be willing to train intensively.
“If you look at the Special Olympics motto, the first thing it says is ‘let me win,'” Rice said. “Don’t be fooled by ‘Special’ Olympics – these are world-class athletes, and they’re there to compete and win.”
Waite and Leatham began intensive training in addition to their regular team sessions with the first snowfall and have stayed focused on improvement ever since, their coaches said.
“Mary Dawn is an excellent example of someone who has overcome adversity,” Bergenzer said. “Many people choose not to use their physical abilities and talents; they do not seek challenges. She is always looking to go farther and to try more difficult terrain. She doesn’t think in terms of limitations, because to her, nothing is impossible until it’s tried.”
Waite will compete in 3K and 5K events – the most advanced cross country races at the Games. She’s ready – she’s in the best shape of her life, she said. The gold is her goal, but whatever the outcome, she said, the training has been worth it.
Leatham has upped his training sessions, as well, and is well-prepared, said Shawn Damitz, coach of the USU Special Olympics snowshoe team.
Snowshoeing is a demanding sport, Damitz said – perfect for Leatham, who is energetic and tough.
“Andrew’s definitely of the highest physical ability,” Damitz said. “He’s young and in good shape and has been able to blossom as a really good snowshoer. We’ve pushed him really hard and he’s pushed himself really hard. He’s done well, considering all he’s involved in.”
A senior at Logan High school this year, Leatham has been team manager for the school football, baseball and basketball teams for three years. Between this and his training with the snowshoeing team, he’s rarely home, said mother, Kaelyn Leatham, said.
But it’s nothing new. He’s been playing sports his entire life, she said, and he’s good. He picked up snowshoeing two years ago – his placement on Team USA evidence of his quick progression.
“Andrew came and totally blew away the field,” Bergenzer said.
He’s competetive – that’s the most important part of snowshoeing, he said. That’s why he works so hard. Andrew will compete in the 200, 400 and 800 meter races – he won the gold in the first two at the Utah Winter Games last winter.
“I want to win,” he said.
If he does, the success won’t go to his head, his mother said.
“It doesn’t affect him at all; he just loves it,” she said.
Leatham’s strength in snowshoeing has helped him develop into a leader on the team, Damitz said.
“He’s to the point where he knows what he’s doing and can help out everybody else,” Damitz said. “He’s definitely taken on more of a leadership role.”
Leatham and Wait were accompanied to the Games by Leatham’s father, Brent Leatham, and Bergenzer, who will help coach the USA cross country team. Many friends and family members will be rooting for them in Logan. The two are the first from Logan to participate in the Games in 12 years .
“This is important, for all of us,” said Mary Braithwaite, director of the USU Special Olympics Program.