Community Corner
Barrington Middle School Students Bring Home Medals in Special Olympics
Three students won medals in the Florida Summer Games held in Orlando.
Three Barrington Middle School students proudly represented Hillsborough County at the State of Florida Special Olympics Summer Games last weekend, May 13-14, at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, bringing home gold, silver and bronze medals.
Fourteen-year-old Barrington athlete, Matthew Parejko, stated, "I like running and hope I get to go on to the World Olympics in Athens, Greece, when I get older."
A child with autism, Matthew has amazed many with his gift for speed, finishing the race in just over 15 seconds. "I did better at regionals," stated Matthew, "but the boys I was running against at State were fast and I kept looking behind me to see if I was winning."
Find out what's happening in Bloomingdale-Riverviewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Win, he did, bringing home the gold medal to cheers from the crowd.
Barrington reading coach, Brooke Lingo, who has served as the students' athletic coach and has worked tirelessly with them as they prepared for the regional games, held March 5 at the University of South Florida, and last weekend's state games, said, "The Special Olympics are exhilarating and fulfilling, and these kids have worked hard. I'm so proud of them."
Find out what's happening in Bloomingdale-Riverviewwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Following Matthew's gold-winning race, Nathan Easters showed his determination with a silver medal in the 100-meter dash and Heather Tucker won bronze in the running long jump, stating, "I had so much fun; I can't believe I won."
The competition at the summer games was fierce as more than 1,500 athletes from all over the state traveled to Central Florida to compete in track and field, soccer, cycling, tennis, bocce and volleyball.
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and world-renowned athlete Loretta Claiborne were the special guests at the inspirational Summer Games Opening Ceremonies held Friday night in Champion Stadium.
The Special Olympics were created in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver as a way to allow athletes with intellectual disabilities to celebrate and be celebrated for their accomplishments. Today the Special Olympics serves more than three million people with intellectual disabilities in nearly 200 nations around the world.
For more information, or to volunteer, visit www.sofl.org
