A Journey of Inspiration — The 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria: Senator Munson
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Senator Jim Munson is chair of the Senate Committee on Human Rights and a longtime advocate for individuals with an intellectual disability. He has just returned home from Graz and Schladming, Austria, where he helped cheer on 108 Canadian athletes competing in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
As we leave the historic city of Graz in Austria, the drive through the rolling countryside is full of memories of an emotional week with new friends — Special Olympics athletes from all around the world.
This was a week to remember. These were games where athletes with intellectual disabilities demonstrated the ability to win, the ability to care and the ability to love.
At Special Olympics, it doesn't matter whether you finish first, last or anywhere in between because, as they say in this sports movement, it is about winning at life. It didn't matter to anyone that the spectacular opening ceremonies in the picturesque town of Schladming were drenched with rain. You only had to feel the energy in the stadium to know that this was the place to be.
It is hard to describe the emotion of watching Team Canada, led by Olympic Gold Medalist and World Figure Skating Champion Jamie Salé, enter the open air stadium. I felt so much pride and excitement for our athletes who had spent years preparing to compete on the world stage.
Our Special Olympics athletes are from all across the country. Being in their presence was a reminder of what Canada looks like. From hugs to fist pumps, it was a time to share in the pure joy of winning and, sometimes, in the sorrow of losing. But nobody really loses at Special Olympics.
Everywhere you looked, there were Canadian flags and supportive families. And it’s the families that are at the core of this movement. It is their belief in the athletes that connects us all. We can cheer, the federal government and corporate sponsors can support, but it is the Special Olympics family where it all begins.
Whether it was watching Peter Snider from Waterloo, Ontario, blasting across the finish line in snowshoeing or Veronique Leblanc from Moncton, New Brunswick, in speed skating, it was clear that these games were about sport, about competition and, most importantly, about inspiration.
For one week in Austria, the sporting world took notice of 3,000 athletes who competed for the love of sport and for the love of each other. We can all learn from Special Olympics athletes what humanity should look like. We can learn more about gratitude — about being grateful for participating in society just like anyone else — and about when a hug means everything or when sharing a moment is the only thing that matters.
I shared in many moments in Austria and I will always remember the tears flowing as I handed out medals in the main square of Graz. In that instant, I thought: “This is what inclusion looks like.”
In Special Olympics, there is an oath: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." That is a lesson for us all.
Note to readers: The Honourable Jim Munson retired from the Senate of Canada in July 2021. Learn more about his work in Parliament.
Senator Jim Munson is chair of the Senate Committee on Human Rights and a longtime advocate for individuals with an intellectual disability. He has just returned home from Graz and Schladming, Austria, where he helped cheer on 108 Canadian athletes competing in the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
As we leave the historic city of Graz in Austria, the drive through the rolling countryside is full of memories of an emotional week with new friends — Special Olympics athletes from all around the world.
This was a week to remember. These were games where athletes with intellectual disabilities demonstrated the ability to win, the ability to care and the ability to love.
At Special Olympics, it doesn't matter whether you finish first, last or anywhere in between because, as they say in this sports movement, it is about winning at life. It didn't matter to anyone that the spectacular opening ceremonies in the picturesque town of Schladming were drenched with rain. You only had to feel the energy in the stadium to know that this was the place to be.
It is hard to describe the emotion of watching Team Canada, led by Olympic Gold Medalist and World Figure Skating Champion Jamie Salé, enter the open air stadium. I felt so much pride and excitement for our athletes who had spent years preparing to compete on the world stage.
Our Special Olympics athletes are from all across the country. Being in their presence was a reminder of what Canada looks like. From hugs to fist pumps, it was a time to share in the pure joy of winning and, sometimes, in the sorrow of losing. But nobody really loses at Special Olympics.
Everywhere you looked, there were Canadian flags and supportive families. And it’s the families that are at the core of this movement. It is their belief in the athletes that connects us all. We can cheer, the federal government and corporate sponsors can support, but it is the Special Olympics family where it all begins.
Whether it was watching Peter Snider from Waterloo, Ontario, blasting across the finish line in snowshoeing or Veronique Leblanc from Moncton, New Brunswick, in speed skating, it was clear that these games were about sport, about competition and, most importantly, about inspiration.
For one week in Austria, the sporting world took notice of 3,000 athletes who competed for the love of sport and for the love of each other. We can all learn from Special Olympics athletes what humanity should look like. We can learn more about gratitude — about being grateful for participating in society just like anyone else — and about when a hug means everything or when sharing a moment is the only thing that matters.
I shared in many moments in Austria and I will always remember the tears flowing as I handed out medals in the main square of Graz. In that instant, I thought: “This is what inclusion looks like.”
In Special Olympics, there is an oath: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." That is a lesson for us all.
Note to readers: The Honourable Jim Munson retired from the Senate of Canada in July 2021. Learn more about his work in Parliament.