Special Olympics – part 5

“The greater the difficulty, the more the glory in surmounting it.”

Euripides

 The cheer squad was in place, pom poms at the ready. Me, mum, mum-in-law, sister, husband. The DJ pumped out the tunes. We will, we will, rock you. It was only 8.30am on a Sunday but yes, it was time for the YMCA. In come the athletes, and the crowd explodes. Game on!

After being placed 8th and 6th for the singles and doubles, the last event for Matt was the group bowling competition. The word in from coach Shirley was that THE 4 MEMBER TEAM HAD BEEN PLACED IN A HIGHLY COMPETITIVE DIVISION AND PROSPECTS FOR A MEDAL WERE GRIM. Everyone would have to bowl way above their average otherwise it would all be over. 

The game commenced and tensions were high. With great Aussie can do spirit and the blessings of the Greek God of Bowling, the pins fell, strike after strike. We screamed and clapped and cheered them on. Strike. Spare. Strike. The 3 game match was fast paced and reached a dramatic nail-biting finale. They all bowled above their average, they were all incredible. More cheering. They took out bronze! Even more cheering. An Olympic medalist in the family! Crazy cheering. Best of all, Matt achieved his personal best, 149, his highest score ever. Cheering that could be heard back in Sydney. Tears and smiles all around.

Just when you think he cannot be more amazing, he becomes so.

Someday soon I hope to get my voice back. And to become an Olympian.