By Gerald Hay

Athletes of all ages are the heart of Special Olympics. They train together, enjoy friendship and social interaction together, and have lots of fun together.

Johnson County has five Special Olympics programs that are part of Special Olympics Kansas. They are the Olathe Trailblazers, Gardner Gold, Spring Hill Sharks, Blue Valley Blue Streaks and the Stormin’ Rangers of the Johnson County Park and Recreation District which has had a Special Olympics team for almost three decades. Special Olympians in the JCPRD program come in all shapes and sizes, ages, sporting interests and athletic abilities.

“Any person with an intellectual or developmental disability, is welcome to participate. We hold skills assessments at the beginning of each sport season and place athletes on a team where they will be most successful,” said Lise Dujakovich, Special Populations/Special Olympics coordinator at JCPRD.

International Special Olympics was created on Aug. 2, 1968, under the leadership of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, President John F. Kennedy’s sister. The organization supports athletes with IDD, and their families, with year-round sports training and athletic competitions tailored to the ability and age level of each athlete.

JCPRD’s Special Populations program began in 1969 with a grant from the Joseph P. Kennedy Foundation for a full day summer day camp for local children with IDD. In 1995, an agreement was made to transfer Shawnee Mission School District’s Special Olympics to JCPRD. The team was called the Rangers. In mid-2022, the Stormin’ Rangers team was formed when the Shawnee Storm Special Olympics team merged with JCPRD.

Special Olympics has few requirements for its athletes. They must be at least 8 years old and, as with all programs, there is paperwork! They do not age out of the programs with many athletes participating for decades.

Bill Story is the oldest Stormin’ Ranger at 81. He competes far less often nowadays as an athlete (his favorite sport is softball) and coaches and volunteers far more often with younger generations of Special Olympians.

“It has kept me busy since 1974,” he quipped. Story was inducted in the Kansas Special Olympics Hall of Fame in 1984.

John Sebastian, 68, plays bocce from his wheelchair. He has enjoyed a long relationship with Carol Jackson, 71, who prefers swimming along with their shared interest in bocce.

Lisa Elsener, 54, has been a Special Olympian since she was an 8-year-old swimmer. She participates in basically every Special Olympics sport imaginable and exceeds in most of them. The list includes swimming, basketball, volleyball, soccer, cheerleading, speed and figure skating, bowling, golf, and track and field.

Special Olympics activities are competitive, but not all or nothing. Winning always remains a personal goal, but athletes simply doing their best is what matters. That is echoed in a motto that Special Olympians say before every tournament or competition. It says: “Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Twenty-two Stormin’ Rangers competed in track and field, soccer and cycling competitions during the 2023 Special Olympics Kansas Summer Games in Maize, Kansas, near Wichita, this past June.

At 62, Pam Clair was the oldest team member as a race walker. She also earned a gold medal in her softball field event this year.

“Meeting all the people and getting to know them,” Clair said when asked what she liked the most about her long participation in Special Olympics.

Seven members formed the JCPRD soccer team, including Abe Eastman, 51, who was inducted into the Kansas Special Olympics Hall of Fame in 2020.

Eastman has been competing in Special Olympics events for more than four decades, saying he likes “being busy and active.” The Stormin’ Rangers soccer team earned a silver medal at the State Summer Games.

Five Stormin’ Rangers competed in cycling events, including Kyle Jenkins, 30. He lost his eyesight about five years ago in an accident and was the only blind cyclist at the Maize event.

“I hope I don’t fall,” he said, noting a three-wheeled bicycle can tip over if making turns too quickly or sharply.

Jenkins joined the team about a year ago. His first sport was bowling. For his cycling training, JCPRD purchased a portable sound system (beeper system) for him to work on sound localization (voice or beeper) and participate in both cycling and bocce.

A volunteer as a side walker also helps to guide Jenkins in cycling training and competition by providing verbal directions.

“Kyle is personable and funny – making it very easy to work with him and cheer him on,” Dujakovich said. She was his side walker at the state games. He didn’t fall.

Jenkins received a bronze medal in both the 500m and 1,000m races at the State Summer Games in his first year of competition.