A group of Peterborough athletes has made history as the first women’s team to win a gold medal in soccer at the Special Olympics provincial games in Brantford.
The event saw 750 athletes compete in athletics, bocce, golf, softball, and soccer, with this year being the first time Special Olympics Ontario hosted a women’s soccer division as well as a men’s division at the provincial summer games.
Travelling to Brantford to compete in the games, which ran from July 10 to 13, was a memorable experience for both the players and coaches, said Debbie Quinlan, who coaches the women’s Special Olympics soccer team along with Shawna Goode and Linda Wilkie.
“It has been our dream and goal for the past six years that Special Olympics Ontario would recognize and believe in the importance of developing more programs and competition for women in sport,” Quinlan told kawarthaNOW.
“The camaraderie, new friendships made, sportsmanship between competitors, and the heart exhibited by all women’s soccer players was inspiring to watch. Our women were thrilled when people would stop to comment on how exciting it was that they played on a women’s Special Olympics soccer team.”
Since 2019 this team has believed in the importance of women in sport, Quinlan said.
“They have played and competed against other Ontario Special Olympics teams since then, dreaming of the day Special Olympics Ontario and Canada would recognize and host an all-women’s provincial soccer games division.”
Throughout the three-day event, the team demonstrated “outstanding perseverance and determination while competing in extreme heat conditions against other Ontario women’s teams coming out undefeated and winning the gold medal in the championship game,” Quinlan said.
The soccer team consists of players Candace Bushie, Crystal Cochrane, Jasmine Davis, Haley Fowler, Heather Fowler, Nicole Hewitt, Kristen Lackey, Gillian McHugh, Miriam McHugh, Kacee Quinlan, Jenn Wildman, and Carlea Wilkie-Ellis.
Quinlan said she hopes that Special Olympics Ontario and Special Olympics Canada will one day have women’s divisions for all sports.
“As women coaches, we hope that we can build and expand women’s Special Olympics soccer to include more teams at various levels in Peterborough and throughout Ontario,” Quinlan said.
“This past year my husband and I started the first-ever Special Olympics basketball team. Our hopes and dreams are to play and compete against other women’s Special Olympics basketball teams in other cities and communities just like we have in soccer.”
Other Peterborough Special Olympians also saw success in their respective divisions at the Brantford games.
Coached by Patrick Henry, Corlea Freeland, and Bill Chapman, the Peterborough Panthers soccer team (Adam Ferguson, Brian Davis, Blair Bastien, Mary McDougall, Jacob Zitman, Mike Ludlow, Makaya Dafoe, Steve Caban, Ryan Blinn, and Dylan Armstrong) won a silver medal.
Coached by Sydney Venton, track and field athlete Gaerrisen Freeland won a gold medal in the 100 metre, 200 metre, 400 metre, shotput, and javelin, Lisa Butler won a gold medal in the 400 metre, shotput, and javelin and a bronze medal in the 100 metre, and Mercedes Laking won a gold medal in shotput and a bronze medal in the 100 metre.
Coached by Toni Hill and Alan Brioux, bocce player Dalton Davis won a gold medal, Jesse Campbell, Julien Cloutier-Austin, and Florence Ekman won bronze medals, and Monique St. Pierre achieved fourth place.
