TURIN: Omani Special Olympics athletes continued their brilliance at the Special Olympics World Winter Games held in Turin, Italy, after winning a silver medal and two bronze medals on Friday. Oman won a first-ever gold and two bronze medals on Thursday as the tally reached six.
Hussam bin Nasser al Amri won the silver medal in the 222m speed skating event, while Retaj bin Sultan al Salmiya won the bronze medal in the 222m speed skating event. Ameera bint Abdulaziz al Raisi gave a distinguished performance in the 100m speed skating event, winning the bronze medal.
On Thursday, Oman won three medals at the Winter Games being held from March 7 to 16.
After intense challenges, Hussam bin Nasser al Amri won the gold medal in speed skating, Al Baraa bin Malik Al Battashi won the bronze medal in cross country, and Retaj bint Sultan Al Salmiya won the bronze medal in speed skating.
Hussam al Amri expressed his gratitude to his coach for the support, which contributed to his success and gold medal. He said he was proud to have this opportunity to represent the Sultanate of Oman in an international championship.
For his part, speed skating coach Safwan bin Abdullah al Balushi said that winning the gold medal and reaching this point required a lot of training, focus, and encouragement to overcome various challenges and pressures, all of which contribute to positively developing the personalities of people with intellectual disabilities.
Faisal bin Hamoud al Harrasi, Deputy Head of Mission, pointed out that winning these medals in the competitions is the result of great effort by the coaches and athletes, which provided the opportunity to take on this challenge and achieve this honourable result, despite the difficulty of the challenge and the advanced levels of the competing players. He added that these achievements contribute to motivating people with intellectual disabilities to practice various sports, as these sports are suitable for everyone, especially since nothing can stand in the way of their achievement and success.
The Oman Special Olympics delegation participating in the Special Olympics World Winter Games (Turin 2025) includes six athletes with intellectual disabilities. The delegation will participate in a total of 6 sports: snowboarding, cross-country skiing, and speed skating.
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