Ave Maria Girl Wins Gold at Florida Special Olympics
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Published on Friday, 21 May 2010 14:28
Del Webb resident fifteen-year-old Marchese Traver won gold medals in 5k and 1k cycling at the Florida Special Olympics summer games May 14-15 at the Disney Wide World of Sports complex in Orlando.
Marchese was one of 90 cyclists at the games, which were attended by 1,550 athletes from Florida, other states and 41 countries, 675 coaches and delegates, and hundreds of family members and spectators. (Right, the Florida cycling team)
"I thought the experience was awesome," Marchese said. "Winning was really cool especially getting the medals...I was very glad when I was done though because it was very tiring but fun."
Marchese said this experience was much different than previous competitions in her home state of Rhode Island. In the 2009 Special Olympics Rhode Island State Summer Games, Marchese won a bronze medal in the 1k and a gold in the 5k cycling event.
"This competition was magnified a lot because it is such a big state and they made a much bigger deal about it," she said "Winning these medals was a big accomplishment for me, and I practiced a lot, doubling up my practice times to get ready for the games."
