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For Athletes, This Is Special

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By RONNIE BLAIR, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 22, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - Richard Klepatski wasn't alone as he propelled his wheelchair down the track at River Ridge High school Thursday during Pasco County's annual Special Olympics competition.

Teacher Todd Hilkene stayed with Richard every inch of the way, leaping and shouting and creating an all-out ruckus as he urged the 11-year-old Cotee River Elementary student toward the finish line.

Richard grinned at his teacher's antics. The going was slow, but the wheelchair kept moving. The other competitors in the race had finished, leaving the track all to Richard and Hilkene.

Hilkene kept shouting and hopping and making a spectacle of himself. Richard kept grinning.

The student would not quit. The teacher would not quit.

After all, this is the Special Olympics, where you want to win, but if you can't win, you want to be brave in the attempt.

The moment Richard reached the finish line, his body touching the blue tape, Hilkene shouted a triumphant, "Yes!" and then grabbed Richard's wheelchair and spun him around several times in a victory dance.

Richard was one of several hundred Special Olympics participants representing schools from all over the county. Their disabilities varied, but their enthusiasm was universal. They raced, showed off tennis skills, threw balls and exulted in this big moment that happens each year.

At the bocce competition, Lillian Williamson, 37, a Special Olympics participant with 20 years worth of medals behind her, waited her turn.

"Nerves," she said. "My stomach is cranking."

Williamson recalled how one year her mother jokingly told her not to come home if she didn't win any medals. She won plenty, but hid them beneath her shirt. She arrived home and forlornly told her mother she had no medals to show for her effort.

Then, when her mother was hooked, she pulled out the medals.

It's a good memory and Williamson smiled at the telling.

Not far away, Susan Paoletti stood behind a table, handing out information about a program she is enthusiastic about.
Paoletti wanted everyone to know that the athletes now have the opportunity to become involved in Special Olympics on another level by participating in Athlete Leadership Programs. They might serve on a Special Olympics organizing committee or be a spokesman, team captain, coach or official.

Those are roles that traditionally haven't been available to them.

"We believe the athletes can do more than they are presently doing," said Paoletti, the Athlete Leadership Programs coordinator for this area.

Rosetta LoBianco, 19, a Mitchell High graduate, has been involved in the Athlete Leadership Programs. She attended an Athlete Congress in Tallahassee, where the Special Olympians passed a measure that called for the athletes at all levels to have uniforms that fit.

That was an important issue. LoBianco, who spent 12 years competing in Special Olympics, said ill-fitting uniforms can be a problem. Sometimes the athletes can barely fit into their uniforms. Sometimes their shirts are so large they threaten to slip off.

For the delegates at the congress, the issue related both to self-confidence and safety.
Paoletti said she handpicked LoBianco to attend the congress.

"I knew she was an advocate for the athletes," Paoletti said.

Paoletti's son has taken on the position of global messenger and speaks to groups about Special Olympics. Matt Paoletti, 19, who has Down syndrome, recently spoke to 200 people in the Heritage Springs community.

He said that went "pretty good." He uses a storyboard in a notebook to help remind him what topics he needs to cover.

Matt Paoletti is a student at Mitchell High School and has participated in Special Olympics for 10 years, racking up more than 50 medals. He competed in bocce Thursday.

"I do well," he said. "I'm going to win."

His girlfriend, Jennifer Hanks, 18, a special education student at Mitchell High, participated in the tennis skills competition.

This is her second year as a Special Olympics athlete. She said she and Paoletti had eagerly anticipated the big day.

"Me and Matt have been talking about Special Olympics," Hanks said. "Every day we can't stop talking about it."

Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218 or rblair@tampatrib.com.

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