They're called special athletes.

Yet while many focus on the "special" designation — both a euphemism for what is also termed "intellectually challenged" and an acknowledgement of the athletes' exceptional responses to these challenges — perhaps too few recognize the "athlete" part.

And make no mistake, the estimated 700 people expected to participate in this weekend's 39th Annual Special Olympics Summer Games are true athletes, from their abilities on their chosen fields of play to the competitiveness that fuels their performances to the advanced sense of teamwork and camaraderie so many exhibit in training and in competition.

Consider this: How many Olympic gold medalists still compete at age 40? And how many are able to swap their goggles and swim caps for cleats and batting helmets?

WINNING SPIRIT

Meet Stephanie Zane, standout swimmer in the freestyle, backstroke and 100-meter relay, and up-and-coming second baseman for last year's runner-up Rainbows.

Zane started swimming at age 5 and, after some three decades of Special Olympics excellence in the pool, tried her hand at softball for the first time last year.

She trains every Tuesday at the 'Iolani pool and gets her hitting and fielding reps every Sunday in Hawai'i Kai. It's not an easy schedule to keep, what with the myriad of duties she attends to as a clerk at the Special Olympics Hawaii office on Beretania Street, but she says it's worth it.

"I like playing with my team," she says. "I've made a lot of friends."

Zane's athletic accomplishments and winning personality have also made her an ambassador for the program. In 2003, she was selected to travel to Ireland to compete in the prestigious World Games. While there, she toured Dublin (including areas featured in the "Harry Potter" films), forged friendships with her fellow Team USA members, and learned the limitations of the Irish diet.

"Nothing but bread and beans," she says with a shake of her head.

Oh yeah, she also found time to earn bronze, silver and gold medals in swimming.

"I did pretty good," she says.

Special Olympics softball coach Kurt Kendro says he was amazed watching Zane's progress on the diamond.

"She's a fantastic athlete," he says. "She's a great fielder and hitter and she'll do very well this year. Off the field, she's just as fantastic. She has a great smile that will melt your heart. She'll make you laugh, make you smile."

Kendro, a police officer, is one of hundreds of volunteer coaches who help to make the Special Olympics possible. This might be surprising to those who only knew him as a kid.

"I like to say I was a terrible child," Kendro says. "I'd tease kids with intellectual disabilities because they were different."

Terrible maybe, but not uncommon.

"People are afraid of people who are different," he says. "And I was one of those people."

TERRIFIC ATHLETES

In 1986, long-time Special Olympics coach and Kendro's training sergeant Paul Epstein recruited Kendro and fellow rookie officer Troy Barboza to coach soccer, softball and basketball with him.

Kendro recalls the anxiety he felt in his first few practice sessions. He worried that the athletes would hurt themselves.

"As a cop, you have that natural protective instinct," he says. "But I was just amazed. You have them dribble the ball around you and it's kind of embarrassing, but they're just terrific athletes."

Barboza was killed in the line of duty a year later, and the annual Torch Run that kicks off the Games now bears his name. Kendro continued to coach and is active in organizing , promoting and raising funds for the Torch Run.

To Kendro, it's the lessons behind the training that counts.

"The whole idea is skill building," he says. "With athletics comes hand-eye coordination, teamwork, learning how to work as a team and as an individual. These are life skills; the athletics is the bonus part.

"If not for athletics, it can be difficult for these athletes to have friends to do things with," he says. "This gives them opportunities to interact with people, to hold conversations, to mainstream."

REWARDING EXPERIENCE

Kendro calls his extensive volunteer activities (he recently returned from Shanghai where he was helping to plan for the upcoming World Games in October) a "blessing."

"I liken it to (University of Hawai'i) Warrior football," he says. "Last year they just clicked offensively and defensively and it was fantastic to see. When I see our team hit and field well, playing off each other's strengths and weaknesses and winning gold, it makes it all worth it."

Pamela McCullough will second that.

The FBI Assistant Special Agent in Charge had been closely associated with Special Olympics ever since she was recruited to run the last leg of a Torch Run into Ohio State University in 1986, but it wasn't until she came to Hawai'i six years ago that she started coaching, also with Epstein.

"It's very rewarding," says McCullough, 49. "There are some athletes who are more challenged and who have very basic skills, and there are some who are just exceptional. They could compete on a high school team. I'm fairly athletic, but some of these athletes could whip me easily."

BASKING IN VICTORY

The official Special Olympic oath says "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

To Jennifer Wong, bravery is fine, but winning is what makes the Games fun.

Wong, who coyly deflects speculation on her age, has competed in swimming, bowling, soccer and golf, and has won at each. She also likes volleyball, which isn't included in the Games, but finds bocce (game similar to bowling) "boring."

These days, her attention is focused on track. To train for this weekend's 800- and 1,500-meter races, she's been training with the Kamehameha Schools boys track and field team.

"I want more gold medals," Wong says.

Indeed, Wong's definition of success is highly exclusive. Informed that Kamehameha track star Brandon Hardin earned six medals, including one gold, in last week's state track and field championships, Wong responds: "He only won one."

Wong is this year's selection to represent Hawai'i at the World Games in Shanghai, and she isn't taking the honor lightly.

"I've been training really hard," she says.

And what is she most looking forward to at the Games?

"Winning."

Reach Michael Tsai at mtsai@honoluluadvertiser.com.