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A month from now, a torch will be carried into a stadium and used to ignite a flame and signify the opening of the 2012 Summer Games in London and it’s a safe bet much of the world will be watching.
Last Friday, a torch that began a week-long journey at the outer edge of Ashtabula County was carried into Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium in Columbus and used to light a similar flame to open the 2012 Ohio Special Olympic Summer Games.
“The torch run comes in (to the stadium),” Ashtabula County Special Olympics track coach Casey Wludyga said. “It starts on the edge of Ohio and the torches are passed from county to county and the flame is brought to Columbus from every corner of the state.
“It’s brought into the stadium by the police and bike police and it’s carried around the track. (At the end of the opening ceremonies,) two guys run to the ends of the stadium and light the flames. They burn all weekend.
“Let me tell you, (the athletes) really get into that.”
By the time that flame was extinguished Sunday, 22 athletes from Ashtabula County were in possession of 27 medals.
“(They had that kind of success because they put in) a lot of practice and dedication,” Wludyga said. “We practice twice a week starting in April until (the Special Olympics). We work as a team.
“This year was special because Richard Flowers was put in a home this year. He coached for years. I talked about it with the team.
“At the beginning of the meet, we had a couple of ribbons and I thought it wasn’t going to be a great year. All of a sudden, the shot-put results came through.”
Josh Goodwin won gold and Scott Mathers and Bobby Rydel each won bronze.
In one of the meet’s final events, the men’s relay, the athletes brought Wludyga to his knees.
“I cried when those boys won the gold the other day,” Wludyga said. “They had come up to me and said, ‘We’re the kings! We’re going to win!’
“The state meet is a whole different ballgame. Everybody is there. To tell you the truth, I wanted to tell them they might not win, but I didn’t. They were just so pumped.
“Those boys came through. I couldn’t believe it. Adam Henson ran the last leg and the kid he was running against was really, really fast. (Adam) had to put everything he had into it and beat him by six inches. I was on my knees screaming. I saw the guy coming (from behind Adam).”
The athletes are really something to see after an accomplishment like that. Seeing his athletes in their moments of triumph gives Wludyga a feeling like he’s accomplished something as well.
“Achieving something they didn’t think they could do makes them so happy,” Wludyga said. “It’s like I’ve accomplished something big. It’s like I achieved something big or I made my goal or I did what God put me here to do.”
A pair of those athletes are actually related closely to Wludyga. He serves as coach for his son, Dylan, and his niece, Shelby McTrusty.
“Shelby was just elated,” Wludyga said after McTrusty won gold medals in the mini javelin and 100-meter dash. “It was her first time doing the mini javelin. That’s hard to throw. There’s no weight to it. It’s like a little arrow. If you don’t know how to make the arrow spin, you can’t get any distance. Her goal was to win.”
Ettinger is a freelance writer from Ashtabula.
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