When Marty Sheets, who was born with Down syndrome, was
about 4, a doctor told his parents that because of his disability he would
never even learn to tie his own shoes.
Back home, Sheets learned how to do it that same day.
“He was a gentle person,” said his father, David Sheets.
“But one thing about Marty, he had determination.”
Sheets went on to become one of the most prominent Special
Olympic athletes in the world, winning approximately 250 medals in everything
from downhill skiing to weightlifting. He chatted with President Bill Clinton
and first lady Hillary Clinton, hobnobbed with celebrities and became one of
the primary ambassadors of the organization.
“When we looked for a person to represent the Special
Olympics around the world,” said Timothy Shriver, chairman of the organization,
“someone with toughness, compassion, grit and love of sport, Marty would always
surface to the top of the list.”
Sheets, 62, died May 21 at home in Greensboro, N.C. He had
been suffering from dementia for the last five years, said his father, and
recently contracted pneumonia.
He competed in Special Olympic events, where one of his
specialties was power lifting, until about 2009.
To read more on this story, click here: Special Olympian Leaves Mark After Decades Of Competition
No comments:
Post a Comment