SPECIAL Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) made significant breakthroughs in 2022, excelling in international competition while also forging partnerships geared at athlete development and building awareness.

Particularly impressive for the Coleridge Howell-led organisation was the progress made despite the myriad challenges posed by the novel coronavirus.

Arguably, one of SOJ’s finest-ever moments came last August when the men’s football team defeated division one rivals Paraguay 2-0 to win the Unified Cup in Michigan, United States.

The icing on the cake for the Jamaica team was that the final win came on August 6, as the country celebrated the 60th anniversary of Independence from British colonial rule. The Jamaicans never conceded a goal while scoring 23 times in six matches.

The gold-medal achievement was an improvement on their second-place finish in 2018 when they lost 0-1 to France during the division two final in Illinois.

In Michigan, Jamaicans were part of a Special Olympics Caribbean women’s team — also comprising players from Aruba, Haiti and The Bahamas — which was fourth in division two behind winners Slovakia.

Earlier in the summer, SOJ athletes sparkled after taking up an invitation to compete at the USA Games in Florida, combining for 12 medals in three sporting disciplines.

The Jamaicans won eight medals in track and field — three gold, four silver and a bronze — in addition to two (a gold and a silver) in bocce and another two (a gold and a bronze) in swimming.

Further progress for unified sports — a programme which integrates people with intellectual disabilities and those without those disabilities in training and competition — came with the roll-out of the Unified Champion Schools initiative.

The initiative, sponsored by the Greek-based Stavros Niarchos Foundation, promotes social inclusion and behavioural change by using sports to build awareness.

One of the champion schools highlights for Special Olympics Jamaica was the staging of the St Catherine Unified Sports Football Rally in late June. The event was deemed a progressive step due to the competitive edge displayed on the field and the support it drew off-field.

To top off that success, representatives from Special Olympics International visited Jamaica to observe the management of Unified Champion Schools activities.

The international body underlined its commitment to supporting programmes in Jamaica and the Caribbean. As part of that commitment came the announcement of a US$50,000 grant for SOJ to help organise Unified Champion Schools activities in eastern Jamaica.

The general consensus is that the developmental gains in 2022 bode well for the future.

— Sanjay Myers