SOUTH East athletes Amechai Bawden, Jamal Seiler and coach Keith Seiler represented Mount Gambier at the National Special Olympics in Adelaide last month.
The trio returned home with an array of success as they competed in a variety of events.
Bawden finished up with a swag of gold medals from running events, while Jamal’s team placed fourth in soccer and Keith and his team were awarded a bronze medal.
Bawden participated in the 1500m, 3000m, 5000m and 4x100m relay, winning gold in all four events and was given the honour of joint flag bearer where he led the South Australian team into the venue and carried the torch for part of the journey inside Titanium Stadium to the Special Olympic Cauldron.
“I had a fun time and I was also able to face some of my fears through doing interviews with the media,” Bawden said.
“I have been featured in the Sunday Mail, Channel Nine, Channel 10 and I have also done multiple radio interviews with FiveAA in Adelaide and ABC South East, which has been good experience.”
Bawden is a Parkrun enthusiast, runs with the Mount Gambier Runners Group and trains with local running coach Sally Taylor and personal trainer Rob Dowdy.
He is employed by Mount Gambier City Council as part of the outdoor team.
Bawden and his family are now eagerly awaiting to find out if he has been selected to compete at the Special Olympic World Games to be held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates in March 2019, while also working towards local running events including the Mount Gambier Tower Trail Run and the Blue Lake Fun Run.
Jamal competed as part of the seven-a-side South Australian soccer team, playing eight games over the four days and coming fourth overall.
“The games were fun and a great experience and my favourite part was playing with my team mates from all over the state,’ Jamal said.
Jamal Seiler plays for the Blue Lake Soccer Club and is trains weekly with both his club and the Special Olympics team while balancing this with his part time job at Woolworths Mount Gambier.
Limestone Coast All Ability soccer coach Keith Seiler coached the Special Olympics South Australian five-a-side soccer team to a bronze medal at the recent games.
“Participating in sport is not always about winning and Special Olympics is very much about this,” he said.
“It’s about what you can achieve by having a go, building friendships and families coming together from other states.”
