Meet some Special Olympians
By Catherine E. Toth
Advertiser Central O'ahu Writer
It's hard to find promotional posters, commercials or advertisements for Special Olympics Hawai'i without photos of the athletes.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
They are, organizers say, what makes Special Olympics so, well, special.
Special Olympics Hawai'i CEO Nancy Bottelo puts a lei on Jennifer Wong during a ceremony at Tamarind Park preceding today's official opening of the 36th annual State Summer Games. Stephanie Zane is at left.
"This is their program, not ours," said Nip Ho, vice president of area services with Special Olympics Hawai'i. "We have to hear their voices. They really are the face of Special Olympics."
And those faces represent an array of ages, abilities and athleticism. Months of weekly practices and steadfast dedication culminate this weekend in the 36th annual State Summer Games, held at the University of Hawai'i-Manoa.
Today's opening ceremonies at Les Murakami Stadium kick off a weekend of competition. More than 800 athletes will participate in swimming, powerlifting, softball, and track and field.
But it's more than just a competitive event.
"These athletes get to be around their peers, they're popular, they can be who they are," said Nancy Bottelo, chief executive officer of Special Olympics Hawai'i. "That's what I love about it."
Special Olympics Hawai'i offers year-round sports training and athletic competition to adults and children with mental disabilities. More than 1,500 athletes from around the state benefit from the program, which boasts more than 325 coaches.
The State Summer Games has helped forge friendships, bolster self-confidence and support a lifelong appreciation of physical activity.
And a huge part of the success of Special Olympics has been the support and involvement of families.
"The families involved are heavily involved," Ho said. "They are the biggest strength in Special Olympics."
Here are some of the remarkable athletes who have found a place and voice through competition — and whose families have found strength in it, too.
Bronson Nobriga, 19
Hometown: Mililani
Competing in: Track and field
Eugene Tanner • The Honolulu Advertiser
When Bronson Nobriga was in seventh grade, he participated in his first track meet with Special Olympics Hawai'i.
Bronson Nobriga, who was born with multiple disabilities, takes pride in his medals — including the gold medal he won in the running long jump at the 1999 Special Olympic World Games in North Carolina.
A natural runner, he bolted out of the starting blocks and ahead of the other competitors. But he kept looking back at them, noticing one of his physically disabled classmates struggling behind everyone.
Just 10 feet from the finish line, Nobriga stopped. He turned around and ran back toward his classmate. He grabbed her hand and they finished the race together. In last place.
"Everyone was just cheering and clapping," said Nobriga's mom, Olga Pinero, a detective with the Honolulu Police Department. "I was crying because it was so touching."
And that's what Special Olympics is all about, she added. "It's not so much to win," she said. "It's about the spirit of competition."
Nobriga was born with multiple disabilities, including a severe speech impairment. But that hasn't stopped him from living a full life.
He enjoys traveling with his mom and watching action flicks. And he loves to draw and paint.
This weekend he will compete in various track and field events.
He has competed for nearly 10 years, medaling in track and field. He even earned a gold medal in the running long jump at the World Games in 1999. That medal, along with an abstract painting he did that earned him first place in the Leeward Regional Contest, are hanging in the family's dining room. They are reminders of these great personal achievements.
"God gives special kids to special parents," said Pinero, who admitted that raising a special-needs child was very difficult, especially as a single mom. "But you gotta keep working at it. ... These kids continually amaze me."
Participating in Special Olympics has provided Nobriga a way to socialize and make friends, Pinero said.
"Most special-needs kids, aside from going to school, come home and that's it," Pinero said. "But Special Olympics opens their world for them, and they become regular kids."
Like other Special Olympics athletes, Nobriga practices at least once a week for each sport he participates in. And Pinero doesn't mind the commute from their home in Mililani to Hawai'i Kai for team practices on weekends. "It's a lot of driving," she said, "but it's worth it."
Practice also offers the parents an opportunity to talk with each other, to listen and give advice, to laugh and cry.
"It's our chance to share," said Pinero, who's also raising Nobriga's 3-year-old half brother Lansing. "And it gives an opportunity to parents who can learn from us. ... Without Special Olympics, I don't know where we would be today."
Stephanie Zane, 37
Hometown: Hawai'i Kai
Competing in: Swimming
Jennifer Wong, 21
Hometown: Kane'ohe
Competing in: Track, shotput, softball
Special Olympics is more than just an avenue for athletic competition. The organization offers a variety of training, especially in leadership.
Athletes are now becoming officials and coaches and even serve on the board of directors.
At Special Olympics Hawai'i, two athletes have become part-time employees, putting into practice the organization's belief that these athletes can do anything.
In January, Stephanie Zane and Jennifer Wong became the first athletes to be hired by Special Olympics. Zane is an administrative assistant; Wong is the project assistant responsible for all of the office's computer work, including creating Powerpoint presentations. Her mom, Nancy, has been her mentor.
"We want to promote what we truly believe, which is these athletes can do anything they set their minds to achieve," Ho said. "And these two have proved that."
At 37, Zane is a veteran athlete. She has been competing in Special Olympics for the past 28 years. Her parents have been staunch supporters along the way, chaperoning events and offering support in any way possible.
"My family is very important to me," said Zane, who's learning skills to live on her own. "They're always there, they help me when I need it, they listen."
Last year Zane qualified for the World Games in Dublin, Ireland, where she took home first place in the 50-meter backstroke and medley relay swimming competition. She also won third in the 100-meter freestyle.
"Competing is a lot of fun," said Zane, an active Global Messenger with Special Olympics, who even co-emceed last year's Summer Games. "It gives us more of a challenge to challenge other people."
This weekend she will defend her gold medal in the 50-meter backstroke and medley relay. She will also compete in the 100-meter backstroke.
Wong has been participating in Special Olympics since she was 10. At 21, she has taken part in nearly every event, from soccer to swimming to bowling.
"I want to play volleyball," she said of one of the sports not included in the Summer Games.
She will compete in the 800-meter and 1,500-meter runs, shotput and softball this weekend.
But Wong's favorite part about the competition isn't winning gold medals. "It's the food," she said shyly. "You get free food."
Katie O'Brien, 20
Hometown: Kuli'ou'ou
Competing in: Softball, powerlifting
Jeff WIdener • The Honolulu Advertiser
Katie O'Brien couldn't walk until she was 7 years old.
Katie O'Brien will be defending her gold medals in softball and powerlifting. She hopes to be a coach, says her mother, Valery.
And it didn't take long for her to dump the walker and try to walk on her own, bruised and swollen knees not withstanding.
Now O'Brien does more than just walk. She runs, plays soccer and powerlifts, feats that are remarkable considering her multiple disabilities, which include being hearing-impaired.
"All that has added to her strength," said her mother, Valery O'Brien, who is marketing director at Kamehameha Investment Corp. "She's really come a long way."
This weekend Katie will compete in softball and powerlifting. She will be defending gold medals in both sports.
But that's not all she does.
In addition to attending afterschool classes at Easter Seals every day, she practices track, softball, bowling and weightlifting at least once a week. She also takes art classes and swimming lessons.
It's a schedule Valery O'Brien says is more hectic than that of her other daughters, twins who don't have any disabilities.
"What she really wants to do is coach," Valery O'Brien said with a laugh. "She wants to be the boss."
Katie is the only female on her softball team, which includes non-disabled players. Special Olympics began offering these "unified" sports more than a decade ago as a way to promote inclusion of special-needs adults and children in the schools and community.
And these sports — softball, bocce, bowling and soccer — give non-disabled family members a chance to participate in Special Olympics, too.
"Often times a disabled child doesn't get as many opportunities as the nondisabled child," Ho said. "In Special Olympics, that doesn't happen."
When Katie graduates from the Hawai'i Center for the Deaf and Blind next month, she will enroll in the Hawai'i Centers for Independent Living, where she'll learn life skills such as balancing a checkbook and catching the bus.
"She really wants to be on her own, living by herself," Valery O'Brien said. "She really, really wants to drive a car. And," she pauses to watch Katie sign another desire, "she wants to, for her 21st birthday, fly to Las Vegas. ...
"It's really good that she wants to do a lot of things. We were so concerned she would spend the rest of her life with us. But we have a feeling we'll be stuck with the twins and Katie will be out of the house."
Reach Catherine E. Toth at 535-8103 or ctoth@honoluluadvertiser.com.
