Special Olympics World Winter Games 2013 : Zulkarnain creates history

Zulkarnain creates history

ZULKARNAIN … first Malaysian to win an individual bronze medal at the Special Olympics World Winter Games. 27th February, 2013KOTA KINABALU: Fifteen-year-old Mohd Zulkarnain Mohd Riduan won a bronze medal for Malaysia at the 10th Special Olympics World Winter Games at Pyeongchang, South Korea recently. The special athlete from Kampung Suang Parai, Menggatal secured the third spot in the 100m snowshoeing final at Alpensia Biathlon Centre during the Winter Games from January 25 – February 5. The podium finish achieved by Zulkarnain, a special education student of SMK Kolombong is the first ever Winter Games individual medal bagged by a Malaysian special athlete. “Even though we don’t have snow, yet we still can send athletes to the Winter Games as Special Olympics provide year-round sports training and athletic competition for individuals with intellectual disabilities to demonstrate courage and acceptance and inclusion in the community,” said Sabah’s snowshoeing coach Raymond Epun. “He could have won a silver medal if he focused straight ahead during the race. Instead he kept on turning his head left and right to check on the other runners and this slowed him down,” reflected Raymond. “Before he went to the starting line, I checked his snowshoes to make sure the laces were tightened because when they are speeding the shoes could accidentally fly off if not secured properly as this happened during the Games, causing a lot of participants to tumble to the ground. “Although I advised him to just finish the race and enjoy himself, but I could see he had a lot of determination which I think was spurred by the size of the other finalists as he was the smallest guy in the starting line-up,” said Raymond. Zulkarnain also fared well in the 200m snowshoeing race and managed to finish fifth even though this is not his pet event. Another member in the national team was 16-year-old Joanna Cherlyn Julius who reached the 200m snowshoeing final and she received a ribbon for finishing outside the medals spot. “She was tailing in second place during the early stage of the final race, but in the last 50m, she abruptly stopped … maybe overwhelmed by the loud cheering coming from the crowd at the stands. “Despite the unexpected twist, I still congratulate her for reaching the 200m final. I think she must have suffered stage fright midway in the race because this was the first time in her life she was watched by so many people,” stated Raymond. Joanna who hails from Kampung Nosoob, Penampang and attends special education class at SMK Bahang also competed in the 100m snowshoeing event and even though she failed to shine, she was given a surprise visit by her mother Rosmani Binijin. Rosmani who took time off from her busy work schedule and travelled to the Games secretly, turned up to gave her daughter a big hug and morale support after she completed all her events. “After the competition, I asked the two special athletes and they told me it was easier for them to slide forward on the snow surface than the sandy ground, the place where they did their training and preparations for three months before going to the Games,” shared Raymond. “The weather condition in Korea was freezing – below minus six degrees Celsius and the blizzard in the evening made it worse, and fortunately we brought enough winter attire to keep our bodies warm,” he related. “During the race, the special athletes were given a free choice to wear whatever clothes they wanted so long as it was comfortable. To overcome the extreme cold, our special athletes wore gloves, wool shoes and caps as well as two layers of winter dress underneath their thermal shirts to warm up their bodies before the race,” he said. Prior to the actual competition, he said the participants went through a divisioning process to make sure the special athletes competed based on their level of ability and strengths. “We also attended the Healthy Athletes Programme (HAP), a non-competition event specially designed for the special athletes to get thorough medical screening,” said Raymond. “During the visit doctors discovered that Zulkarnain was having a nagging problem with his ears, and immediately provided the treatment to improve his hearing. “Besides that, the doctors also checked his dental health and now he knows how to brush his teeth before he goes to bed and when he wakes up,” he noted. “Before the actual competition started, we participated in the Host Town Programme at Seocho City, located at the fringe of Seoul on January 25-28, to get ourselves acclimatised with the local weather, tradition and culture. “The entourage from Malaysia was taken on a tour to the Umyeon Elementary School gymnasium to see their modern sports facilities and trained there for three hours before heading to the Namsan Tower, a landmark of Seoul for sight seeing, and learnt about Korean history at the Gyeong Bok Palace built in 1395 during the Chosun Dynastry,” he said. He said the Mayor of Seocho City also hosted a farewell party for the Malaysian delegation comprising 22 members – six coaches and 16 special athletes – including a group of Sarawakians who clinched a bronze medal for Malaysia in the indoor floor hockey competition. Raymond also thanked the parents of Zulkarnain and Joanna for allowing their children to attend the training programme designed to prepare them for the Winter Games, as well as the State Education Department for releasing the two students. He also appreciated the publicity given by the print media in promoting the event. “I am sure the two athletes will not forget the memorable experience in Korea where they made a lot of new friends and I hope they enjoyed every moment of it,” added Raymond. The next Winter Games will be held in Austria in 2017, and Raymond proposed to the Special Olympics Malaysia to send eight special athletes – four boys and four girls so that they could compete in the relay team events.