NEW HAVEN, Conn. — Dozens of athletes, coaches, and staff members of Special Olympics Connecticut landed at Tweed Airport in New Haven Sunday after competing at the USA Games in Orlando.
The athletes competed in basketball, track & field, swimming, and gymnastics. More than 5,000 athletes and coaches from all the states and the Caribbean competed for a week in Florida.
Anna Reagle, 23, brought home a silver medal in backstroke. Her parents, Terry O'Hara and Ted Reagle of Guilford, say it has been amazing to see their child with Down Syndrome compete at this level.
"I think the most phenomenal part is just that Special Olympics does this for this population. That they create this opportunity that is life-changing, team building, confidence building," her dad said.
Terry went down to Orlando to watch her compete. She said it was "beyond spectacular" and was a better experience than what they thought it would be.
The games are hosted once every four years. There are 19 Olympic-style individual and team sports and 30 events. The next games will be in 2026 in Minnesota.
Tony Black is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. He can be reached at tblack@fox61.com. Follow him on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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