AMHERST – “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”
That is the athlete’s oath for Special Olympians and all-around athlete Jason Rhinedress will be taking that oath when he competes at the Canadian Special Olympics Summer Games, which runs from July 11-17, 2010 in London, Ont.
The Amherst native was selected to represent Amherst after winning silver in the 100-metre sprint, bronze in the 200-metre sprint, gold in the 400-metre sprint, silver in the running long jump and gold in the shot put during the Nova Scotia Special Olympics Summer games in Halifax last summer.
Rhindress will join 50 other Nova Scotia athletes at the games, along with 13 coaches and three mission staff. If Rhindress does well at the games, he could qualify for the 2011 World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.
There will be 1,400 athletes, coaches, mission staff and officials from throughout Canada at the games. The athletes will compete in athletics, aquatics, power lifting, bowling, soccer and softball.
Rhindress has been trained by the Amherst Special Olympics head coach Curt Speight, who has been involved in the Amherst Special Olympics for the last four years and has taken all the required coaching courses.
The mission statement for Special Olympics Nova Scotia is, “Enriching the lives of Nova Scotians with an intellectual disability through sport.”