KellieMarie Matthew {courtesy}
Matthew earned a gold medal in the Giant Slalom and Slalom and fourth place in the intermediate Super G in the Special Olympics World Winter Games.
According to Delanie Ross, spokesperson for Special Olympics Florida, she represented the U.S. in Alpine skiing and was among 1,500 athletes from 102 nations at the games in Turin, Italy, from March 8 through 16.
A lifelong resident of Coral Springs, Matthew, age 29, has a learning disability and struggles with some reasoning and conceptual skills but reads well and holds a job. To be eligible to compete in the Special Olympics, one must be intellectually disabled, according to Ross.
Matthew learned the basics of skiing on a small slope in Pompano Beach near the Pompano Beach Airpark and trained with the Special Olympics Broward County ski team. Her father, Norris Matthew, and other ski instructors coached her and would lay out plastic sheets on the slope and cover them with dishwashing soap and water to make her first course slick enough for skiing.
She traveled to Colorado and North Carolina to train on real snow. Matthew was also coached by Jason Kohler, the head coach of the Special Olympics Alpine skiing team, and trained with members of the Special Olympics Alpine Skiing team.
Giant Slalom skiing involves mastering various techniques and Slalom skiing requires handling speed. “I learned a lot on dry land about balance and controlling my body, how to breathe and do everything at once,” said Matthew.
The two gold medals represent success for Matthew, who works as a server at Park Summit, a senior community in Coral Springs, when she is not training. “It was an amazing feeling, and it was a testament to my training and mental preparation. I will continue skiing for a long time,” she said.
Her mother, AnnMarie Matthew, was ecstatic when she saw her daughter win. “I was screaming because I was so excited. This is a great accomplishment for KellieMarie,” she said.
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