BERLIN, Germany — Jamaica’s retired swimming great Alia Atkinson expressed absolute delight after she watched her compatriots win three Special Olympics World Games medals in the pool at Europasportspark (SSE) on Wednesday.

Andrew McIntosh swam a personal best 15.64 seconds in the 25m freestyle (Level A, Division MA03) to finish behind Goitsemodimo Mosepele (15.60) of SO South Africa. Odir Enriquez Franco of Guatemala was third with 15.70.

Tasheanna Bailey clocked 58.63 seconds in the 25m freestyle (Level B, Division FB01) to finish third behind Jitendra Shirgaonkar (46.13) of SO Bharat (India) and Maryam Al Saidi (53.93) of SO Oman.

Andrew Bartholomew completed the 25m freestyle (Level A, Division MA02) in 18.20 seconds to trail the SO Slovenia pair of winner Aidan Aroz (16.18)and second-placed Amadej Kremzar (17.86).

Atkinson, a Special Olympics ambassador, was at the venue during competition and was even among those handing out medals during the post-race ceremonial activities.

“The athletes performed exceedingly well,” she said.

“When put under pressure our athletes rose to the challenge and surpassed not only their personal bests but [won] the love of their teammates, their countrymen and everyone watching them.

“A lasting memory is the athletes who received medals, the sheer joy on their faces and the proud moment for their parents and their teammates. I think nothing beats the pride that you see in the parents’ eyes when they see their children succeed.

“But in this instance, it’s more than that. It’s seeing a society view your child differently, it’s saying that disability does not mean inability and it’s saying that these athletes here with intellectual disabilities can do anything if given the time, the patience,” she said.

SOJ’s aquatics coach Marissa Hayman said she was impressed with the swimmers, especially 18-year-old McIntosh.

“I couldn’t contain my excitement… words can’t begin to describe how proud I am of the team. They continue to exceed my expectations as yet again, our youngest athlete, Andrew McIntosh, cut down his time from 16.50 in the semi-finals to 15.64 in the final,” she told the Jamaica Observer.

“These athletes continue to push boundaries and I know there’s so much more in store for them,” Hayman said.

In addition to the three medals won in the pool on Wednesday, middle distance runner Allan Gordon claimed silver in the men’s 1,500m. Jamaica’s tally in Berlin has climbed to eight medals (two gold, three silver, and three bronze).

Jamaica won a record 33 medals at the 2019 World Games in the United Arab Emirates, after tallying 29 at the 2015 global event in the United States.

Through sport activities and competition, the Special Olympics International movement aims to break down barriers that exclude people with intellectual disabilities, such as autism and Down’s syndrome, from mainstream society.