BERLIN, Germany — As Special Olympics Jamaica (SOJ) athlete Allan Gordon watched his sister Allanika win gold in the women’s 800m race at Olympiapark on Tuesday he was flooded with immense pride.

It wasn’t only because she rose to heightened levels of prestige by winning gold at the Special Olympics World Games. Nor was it simply down to the significance of that particular medal — Jamaica’s first gold at the Berlin 2023 Games.

No, there was something else in it for him. It so happened that on that very day the 27-year-old runner had been disqualified from the men’s equivalent.

So, when Allanika, two years his junior, dominated her rivals on her way to the gold medal he admitted his anguish had been eased somewhat.

“I felt proud for her and I was happy that she won the gold because I was disqualified from the men’s 800m race,” he said.

Allanika, who told the Jamaica Observer she was “excited, happy, and proud” of her accomplishment, suggested she felt duty-bound to her sibling.

“I really feel good about winning since my brother had that disappointment, and he was excited about me winning,” she said.

Things got better for Allan on Wednesday.

Running with a chip on his shoulder and having his teammates and coaches cheering his every stride, he swept around the Olympiapark track to grab silver in the men’s 1,500m in 5:03.53 minutes.

“I am just happy to be at the Games with my little sister and to have these experiences together. And I’m proud of myself for getting a medal after the 800m [disqualification],” he said.

After Allan’s silver on Wednesday, the track and field team has won five medals, while overall SOJ has eight.

With more competition set to come on the track, and elsewhere, Allanika said their main goal is to “win more medals” for Jamaica.

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

— Sanjay Myers