TULLN, Austria — Many familiar with Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) call him the melon man.

That’s because Gosford Cole, now a deputy superintendent of police, has for two decades been farming watermelons to help raise funds for the local Special Olympics programme in Jamaica.

Through the benevolence of Cole and others like him, SOJ has been able to enter two events — speed skating and floor hockey — at the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria.

He is also presently in Austria with officers from all across the globe participating in the Torch Run Final Leg, bringing awareness to the Special Olympics movement.

That responsibility means Cole, who is based in the Westmoreland police division, will be among those taking the symbolic Flame of Hope into the stadium during the opening ceremony in Schladming on Saturday.

“It’s indeed an honour for me to have been selected by Special Olympics Jamaica to represent the country and I will serve as a fine ambassador,” he told the Jamaica Observer in a recent interview.

“When I started out making contributions toward Special Olympics, I didn’t know I’d reach this far so I’m really excited about it…I’m really overwhelmed right now.

“I’m the only police officer from the English-speaking Caribbean in Austria, joining over a hundred other police officers across the world. We’ll be going across Austria with the torch to enlighten people and let them appreciate what this is all about and heighten the awareness for the Special Olympics movement,” he explained.

Another Jamaican police officer, Superintendent Stephanie Lindsay, had a similar role at the 2015 World Summer Games in Los Angeles, United States.

Cole, who left the island on March 7 and is to return on the 21st, has a melon farm in Black River, St Elizabeth.

He told the Observer he has been involved with Special Olympics for over 30 years, but he said he started planting melons to support the programme since the late 1990s.

“The law enforcement run is a major fundraiser for Special Olympics, and it’s not police officers alone. We now have on board the JDF (Jamaica Defence Force), PICA (Passport Immigration and Citizen Agency), the prison authorities, and so forth,” he said.

“I’ve been planting watermelons and giving proceeds to Special Olympics through the law enforcement torch run. And every year when they have training I would provide them with water melons as a fruit to complement the diet.

“Years ago, about 1997, the police were planning for the Law Enforcement Torch Run and I decided to plant a crop of melons for Special Olympics, and I raised over a $136,000 which was paid over to Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics. Since then I’ve been working along with them where fundraising is concerned,” Cole told the Observer.

The aim of Special Olympics is to provide year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

The disabilities can either be acquired or genetic and can include cases of Down’s syndrome, autism, traumatic brain injury, and cerebral palsy.

Close to 3,000 athletes are expected to compete here at the 2017 Games.

— Sanjay Myers