After an action-packed weekend of smiles and high-fives, Juneau’s Special Olympians left Anchorage with some well-earned swagger, new friends and memories to last a lifetime — oh, and more hardware than a Home Depot.
The Juneau Rebounders Special Olympics basketball team won their third gold medal in a row at the Alaska Summer Games.
“We kept battling and believing in each other,” basketball gold medalist Kristina Brown said. “It’s fun to get to see my friends and play hard,” added Brown, who’s favorite basketball player is the National Basketball Association’s Stephen Curry.
“It feels good, I feel happy and glad,” basketball gold medalist Alec Tolles said. “We are trying to make it to the world games and have to get two more (gold medals).”
By the closing ceremonies of the 2016 Special Olympics Alaska Summer Games, some 300 athletes competed in five different sports (basketball, aquatics, athletics, gymnastics and powerlifting). The Juneau delegation took home basketball gold for the third year in a row while amassing 10 golds, five silvers and one fourth place finish in aquatics.
Competing for Juneau this year were: Tammra Birch, Carmen Brenner, Chris Brenner, Kristina Brown, Chloe Dietrick, Leroy George, Nolan Harvey, Christian “Andres” Jones, Jacob Lewis, Sara Muehlberg, Jesse Quick, Alec Tolles, CJ Umbs and Lauro Untalasco.
Special Olympics Alaska is an accredited program of Special Olympics Inc. which has served more than 2,000 athletes around the state in 10 local community training programs.
2016 Alaska Summer Games results:
Basketball, Juneau Rebounders — 1st place (38 points)
100 Backstroke, Muehlberg — 1st place (2:00)
100 Backstroke, Umbs — 1st place (1:57.66)
100 Freestyle, Muehlberg — 1st place (2:10.75)
100 Freestyle, Untalasco — 2nd place (1:00)
200 Backstroke, Untalasco — 1st place (5:00)
200 Freestyle, Umbs — 1st place (3:17.91)
400 Freestyle, Umbs — 1st place (6:59.97)
Freestyle Relay, Team — 1st place (3:41.47)
50 Backstroke, Harvey — 4th place (1:15.64)
50 Breaststroke, Harvey — 2nd place (1:01.80)
50 Breaststroke, Muehlberg — 2nd place (1:23.31)
50 Freestyle, Harvey — 2nd place (1:01.34)
50 Freestyle, Untalasco — 2nd place (0:49.16)
