MANILA, Philippines — In the history of Summer Olympics, no Filipino athlete has achieved what the country has been hoping for so many years. The Philippines has yet to win a gold medal.

Come 2012 in London, United Kingdom, the country is yet again hoping and praying that there will be a Filipino athlete, even at least one, to bring home the country’s first Olympic gold.

But unknown to many, for the past several years, a group of special athletes has been successfully achieving what no regular Filipino athlete could. In 2007, in the Special Olympics World Summer Games held in Shanghai, China, special Filipino athletes garnered nine gold medals! Competing against 7,291 athletes from 165 different countries from around the world.

These special athletes achieved a feat that no one can deny. They indeed delivered.

This year, the 13th Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in Athens, Greece, starting on June 25 until July 4. A total of 38 Filipino athletes from different parts of the country will represent the Philippines in the quadrennial sporting event.

Special Olympics not Paralympics

Not to be confused with Paralympic Games, the Special Olympics World Summer Games is a sporting event for children and adult athletes with intellectual disability — autism, cerebral palsy, slow learners, Down syndrome. The Paralympics Games, on the other hand, is a sporting event for physically disabled individuals.

In the country, the Special Olympics Philippines (SOP) was established in 1978 as a non-profit humanitarian organization created to help individuals with intellectual disability achieve their potentials through an organized year-round program of sports training, athletic competition and recreation. It is affiliated with Special Olympics International, Inc. the largest program of sports training and athletic competition in the world of children and adults with intellectual
disability, which was created by Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation.

At present, SOP has 12,500 intellectually-challenged athletes, 4,000 volunteer coaches in 14 different chapters registered in 13 regions of the country.

This year, in the Special Olympics World Summer Games, around 7,500 special athletes from 185 nations will compete in 22 different sporting events. These include aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, bocce, bowling, cycling, equestrian, floor hockey, football, golf, gymnastics, judo, powerlifting, roller skating, sailing, softball, table tennis, team handball, tennis, and volleyball.

“Most of our athletes are slow learners because they are the ones who are capable and have the ability to follow instructions. In the country, about 60 percent are slow learners, the 20 percent have Down syndrome, 20 percent have autism and other intellectual disabilities,” explains Alex Babst, SOP national executive director.

According to Babst, individuals with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) are also included in the event but the committee is reevaluating this since athletes with ADHD can compete in the regular Olympics like swimmer Michael Phelps. Based on a research, Babst says, ADHD is more on the behavioral and emotional disability than intellectual.

Athletes as young as eight years old can already compete in the games. For adults, as long as they can still do the sport, they can still compete. There are athletes who are even 50 years old!

The country's forte

He says that out of the 22 sporting events, the country’s forte is powerlifting, bocce, and bowling. Intellectually-challenged bowler Roxanne Salve Ng, a Special Olympics veteran who won several gold medals in the 2003 and 2007 World Summer Games will compete this year. Powerlifter Louie John Decolongon, who also won a gold medal in the 2007 Shanghai games, will also represent the country this year.

Babst is optimistic that this year’s delegation will bring in more medals.

“I would be happy if we would bring home 30 medals, 10 of which are gold medals. Maybe it’s too high of an expectation but our athletes are really good, especially in bowling, bocce and athletics. Our rhythmic gymnast is also good.”

All they need is support

Most of the athlete members of SOP come from the National Capital Region (NCR) where most special education (SpEd) schools are located.

The organization recruits through Department of Education’s SpEd Division.

“We have to at least increase by 10 percent nationwide every year. The problem is we also lose athletes because either family moves or the athlete drops out of the education system. The increase is thus offset by the athletes that we lose,” Babst shares.

One thing that is most important is family and community support. “The interest is there, on the part of the athlete. The problem is the parents. Most of them in the first place cannot go to Special Olympics activities. The athletes are very much interested because they gain friends whom they can can relate to, they can talk to. But among their family, the support system, they don’t have it,” he laments.

SOP holds games regularly. The Regional Special Olympics Games are held every year while the National Special Olympics Games are held every two years. They also organize events under different programs such as Young Athletes Program, Athletes Leadership Program, Family Support Program, among others.

The organization also has volunteer coaches that are trained by seasoned Special Olympics trainors. Most of the volunteer coaches are college students and athletes.

“The problem is the fast turnover in coaches who are also SpEd teachers. First, because of migration; second, they assume higher responsibility and they don’t have time anymore,” he shares.

Life-changing

For the athletes, the impact of joining and winning sports competitions is a life-changing experience. This is also true to parents, Babst says.

“Most of them are finally being accepted by their families. Parents become more confident in dealing with other parents. They have something to talk about now and are proud of their special children. The acceptance factor comes in,” shares Babst, a father of two slow learners who are both athletes.

The special athletes also become more confident. “They realize that they can win a gold medal. It becomes a chain reaction in human activity,” Babst adds.

He also says that the games also have a positive impact on even those who do not win. “If you compete and lose, there’s still that feeling of next time, I will do better. Next time, I will win that medal. That gives them a mission, that goal. It gives them more incentives. They become motivated.”

SOP’s ultimate vision is to see these special people, and people with disability in general, be accepted in the community. The games are just a proof that they can do things normal people do, and excel at that.

“We want to stop discrimination, to open more jobs especially for the physically-handicapped and access to them. Equal treatment is all what they’re asking. We are here to give the message to the community, to please focus on their ability, not their disability. Accept them for what they are and not what you want them to be especially the parents. We may all be different but we are equal,” he ends.