Swimmer displays Greece lightning

When Michael Tuason's family moved to Florida from Buffalo, N.Y., his parents decided their 6-year-old son should learn how to swim.

As his mother, Pam , recalls, young Michael wasn't sure he liked the water at first. That changed quickly, andhe became an avid swimmer.

Tuason's parents couldn't have imagined their son's swimming ability would take them to Athens, Greece, where he would outpace swimmers from around the world. Tuason, now 19, won two gold medals and two bronze medals there at the 13th Special Olympics World Summer Games, held from June 24 to July 4.

On Monday, the Tuason family was at the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center to show Michael Tuason's medals and to share memories with teammates and their families.

"I was so excited to be there, just to be in Athens," said his father, also named Michael. Watching his son line up to compete in the 800-meter freestyle, he said, "was the proudest moment of my life."

Tuason took the gold in that event and in the 400-meter freestyle. He won his bronze medals in the 1,500-meter freestyle and the 4x50 medley relay.

Like their Olympian counterparts, Special Olympics athletes from around the world come together every two years, alternating between Summer Games and Winter Games. The competitions are staged in countries throughout the world.

Tuason, who has a form of autism, was a student at J. W. Mitchell High School in Trinity when he earned a shot at a berth on the Florida contingent of Team USA last year by winning at the state level in the 400- and 800-meter freestyle events.

Tuason's participation in Athens was the first time a Special Olympian from Pasco County has competed in another country.

Val Lundin, co-coordinator of Special Olympics for the Pasco School District, said the district and the county couldn't have had a better representative on the world stage.

"We knew he would represent us well," Lundin said. "He's just a great swimmer, and he's self-motivated."

Even so, the Tuasons said it took help to prepare Michael for his Olympic moment. They enrolled him in the Clearwater Aquatic Team program, one of the nation's premier training organizations for top-level competitive swimmers.

A family friend, Mark Cianciolo, whose son also trains with the Clearwater Aquatic Team, helped get Tuason to morning sessions of a grueling training schedule for a team of coaches: Tiger Christian, Steve Wilson, Kevin Reese and head coach Randy Reese.

The work paid off in Athens. Michael Tuason Sr. said he once had timed Michael at 26 minutes in the 1,500-meter freestyle, but they had not trained for that distance. He would have been satisfied just to see his son complete the race. At the games, his time was about 22 minutes, good enough for the bronze medal. Michael Tuason Sr. said he might be most proud of that performance.

While the competitions were the focus of the trip, there was much more to the Tuasons' Special Olympics experience. The family managed to get in a few afternoons of sightseeing, and the games themselves offered many memorable experiences.

"The stadium where they had the opening ceremony was 3,000 years old," Pam Tuason said. "It was so unreal to sit there for the opening and closing ceremonies."

Adding to the spectacle, Stevie Wonder and Vanessa Williams performed at the opening ceremony. Later, the Tuasons rubbed shoulders with former Olympians Michelle Kwan and Nadia Comaneci at a dinner and dance at the U.S. Embassy.

Michael Tuason met fellow athletes from throughout the world, and his mother said they made friends with people from across the country.

Friendships mean a lot to the Tuasons; so much so that although the family recently moved to Madeira Beach, they couldn't abandon Michael Tuason's coaches and teammatesin Pasco. The Tuasons drive to the New Port Richey Recreation and Aquatic Center so he can swim with what they say always will be his home team.