Months of training for the Nelson Special Olympics athletics team was rewarded with the six-strong contingent claiming a whopping 17 medals at the National Summer Games in Christchurch this month.
The haul would have been even bigger, but the team’s talisman Nigel Fearn suffered a cruel leg injury in his second event.
“I was lying second in the 400m but at the half-way mark the back of my leg went and I crashed to the track. I was totally gutted,” reveals Nigel, who has been competing at the Special Olympics for 40 years and has amassed more than 100 medals.
He was meant to have been the lead runner for the team relay which then turned into a “running for Nigel” effort by Gwynn Davies, Maggie Duff, Charles Shaw and Stephanie Keeley.
The 57-year-old was brought to tears, cheering from the sidelines with teammate Lisa Donald, as Nelson duly took out the race.
“They magically pulled the win out of the bag,” enthuses Lisa, who won gold herself with a personal best throw in the shotput.
“The baton changes were so smooth and when Charlie passed it to Stef for the final leg, he just said go and she did,” says head coach and proud mother Irene Keeley.
“They trained most nights at the Saxton Athletics Track. They worked hard, helped each other and were a really neat bunch of athletes,” declares Irene, who confirms the medal haul and number of pb’s exceeded expectations.
Lisa praised the coaching group of Irene, Sharon Trustum and Lisa Wakelin.
“They were amazing. They encouraged us all the way,” says Lisa, who started out in basketball before switching to track and field.
Lisa reckons the emphasis on strength training and the camaraderie was the secret to their success.
The National Summer Games are held every four years and the five-day Christchurch edition attracted more than 1200 competitors.
