Special Olympians express joyful anxiety at Winter Games

loading...

CARABASSETT VALLEY – A few of the athletes who flocked to Sugarloaf/USA on Monday had to be coaxed, prodded or persuaded to get off the sidelines and into their respective events at the Special Olympic Maine Winter Games.

Most, however, were a lot like Scott Saindon of Auburn. According to his coach, Saindon woke at 4:50 a.m. and was ready to roll shortly after that. By the time the 30-year-old snowshoeing specialist arrived at his venue at about 9, Stacey Groomes couldn’t hold Saindon back any longer.

Saindon scurried over to the starting line – causing a minor incident when he hopped on a fellow competitor’s snowshoe while trying to give her a hug – then settled onto the snowshoe-fitting bench to wait for help.

“Ahh,” Saindon said as volunteers lashed a pair of Tubbs to his feet. “Pooped.”

Groomes, one of the John F. Murphy Home coaches, laughed. “He’s always eager,” she said. “This is his favorite part of the winter.”

Eager may be an understatement.

As officials, athletes and other coaches found out, if you put a pair of snowshoes on Saindon’s feet … you’d better be ready to let him race.

“Ready?” one official asked an assembled group of Special Olympians as they queued up near the starting line.

“Ready!” Saindon shouted from about three rows back.

“Uh … We’re not ready for your group yet,” the official told the already standing Saindon. “You’ve got two more groups to wait.”

Saindon smiled … but didn’t sit back down. Instead, he sidled up to Game Warden Sgt. Dan Menard and did a bit of networking.

“Ma’am,” he said, politely, not overly concerned about getting the gender exactly right. “Ma’am. You got a phone?”

Menard told Saindon that he did.

“Can you call me on my birthday?” he asked.

Menard laughed and said he would.

For the record, Saindon’s birthday is Nov. 17. And according to Groomes, many of the more than 600 athletes assembled for this year’s 33rd edition of the Winter Games will know that before they head back home.

“He invites everyone to his birthday,” Groomes said.

“And he has about 100 birthdays a year,” a co-worker chimed in.

Eventually, Saindon’s turn to race arrived. He bolted from the starting line, churning up snow with a rapid-fire, short-strided gait.

When he’s racing, Saindon is all business. But afterward, it turns out that he’s a bit like many professional athletes: he likes to be pampered a bit.

“Help,” he panted softly, reaching a mittened hand out to anyone he thinks might hold him upright for a while. “Help. I tired.”

Tired or not, Saindon’s day isn’t over. Not by a long shot.

Even though he’s already planning for a coffee break … or lunch (hot dogs are a personal favorite), he’s not going to get either until the 100-meter event is over.

And though Saindon doesn’t yet know it, the 100 will prove to be a challenge.

The 100 is a race of endurance more than speed. Sometimes, racers who start conservatively and concede an early lead will find that tactic works well after opponents begin tiring and stumble a bit.

Saindon, unfortunately, has only one speed: full-throttle. And it turns out that his flexible rubber boots aren’t nearly as adaptable to the world of high-speed snowshoe-racing.

After a few meters of hoofing, Saindon’s feet began to slide out of his boots. After 35 meters, one foot nearly succeeded, and every time he planted his foot, his snowshoe … and the attached boot … jutted off at a 45-degree angle.

Soon after that, he tumbled to a halt.

Saindon is fast. He’s eager. And he’s also tenacious. But as he’d gladly tell you, it’s nearly impossible to stand upright when your foot and your snowshoe have other ideas.

His misfortune earned Saindon another chance at the 100 … but the result was the same: equipment failure.

At 5 meters, he fell … and scrambled up, both boots still firmly attached to his feet. At 25 meters, he tumbled again, and struggled back to his feet. At 35, the boot finally slipped nearly free and twisted, and he couldn’t convince the snowshoe to point in the right direction. He tried to get up several times before lying on his back, putting both feet in the air, and waiting for the pit crew to change his blown tire.

Saindon never gave up, though his boot didn’t give him the same courtesy. He earned applause after the race for the grit he displayed under trying circumstances.

After consultation, Saindon was told he’ll return for Tuesday’s finals … in the 25-meter event. His boots, it seems, should be able to withstand the stresses of such a short event.

A few minutes later, seated back on the bench, Saindon looks at Groomes and tells him what’s on his mind.

“Lunch,” he said. “Lunch.”

Another eager athlete

As Saindon’s day of snowshoeing drew to a close, another athlete was eager to get his started.

And like Saindon, Tim Caler of Portland wasn’t a picture of patience.

While his coach helped another athlete tighten a shoe, Caler bolted from 10 meters behind the starting line and gave chase to the six athletes already racing.

Caler was well down the course before any officials noticed what was going on, and wisely decided not to intervene.

“That’s the kind of horse I’d like to bet on,” said one opposing coach. “He comes running out of the barn and wins anyway.”

Caler’s coach, Jan McGrath, said she looked down for a moment, looked back up, and saw nothing but Caler’s back.

“I said, ‘You’ll run in a minute,’ and he decided to go,” McGrath said. “He doesn’t like to be late.”

After spotting all the racers a head start – and beating several to the finish line – the 56-year-old Caler was told that his run wouldn’t count.

He greeted the news with a grin.

“I got warmed up, though,” he told his coach.

Getting a full workout

A few hours later, over at the speed skating venue, Caitlyn Gunn of Newburgh was ready to race. Again … and again … and again.

On Monday morning, Gunn arrived at the rink and skated 100 meters, 300 meters, and 800 meters. On the Special Olympics rink, that means she completed a one-lap race, a three-lap race, and a grueling eight-lapper.

After a noontime parade, and a bit of lunch, Gunn returned to the rink for the finals in each of the three events.

And, as her father pointed out, that made for a busy day.

There aren’t many speed skaters at the Special Olympics, and the wait between heats is slim. Gunn never took off her red, white and blue helmet, though she did peel off her purple mittens and pull out her matching mouthpiece between heats. Then she killed the slight down time by cheering for the other skaters.

“She just skated 1,200 meters in about 20 minutes,” Jerry Gunn said with a grin and a shake of his head.

Gunn didn’t seem to mind … although she did say the day wasn’t a complete success.

“I wish my buddy was here,” she told her father between races.

“Who’s your buddy?” he asked.

“Tim Throckmorton,” she said, referring to the WABI-TV of Bangor sports anchor who interviewed her several years ago.

“She kind of gravitates toward the TV cameras,” Jerry Gunn said with another chuckle.

On the ice, Gunn was poised and businesslike. She worked hard on the straightaways, coasted around the tight corners, and never came close to losing her footing.

As it turns out, skating is old hat for Gunn. She began speed skating four years ago, has played a bit of ice hockey, and competed in the Special Olympics World Games in Alaska two years ago.

“I got a gold, a silver and a bronze,” she said.

After completing the 800, Gunn tackled the 300. She did equally well in that three-lap race, and cruised to a stop against the boards before working her way back down the line of spectators, offering high fives.

“Do you want to take a nap now?” Jerry Gunn asked.

“No,” Caitlyn said.

“What do you want to do?” her father asked.

“Snowmobile rides!” she said, knowing (as a Special Olympics vet) that competition is only a small part of the total event.

Later, she said, there’s a dance. And before that, there’s an awards ceremony.

Caitlyn thought her dad would have to head back to Newburgh before the awards, as they were scheduled to be held on Tuesday. After finishing the 300, she found out differently.

She and the rest of the racers were headed inside to take off their skates … then over to the podium to receive their medals.

“Hey!” she said, smiling broadly. “Dad will get to stay for the awards!”

Jerry Gunn nodded his head at his daughter as he helped her back toward the lodge.

“Yay!” Caitlyn said.