Courtesy photo
Berthoud’s Amelia Thompson (14) wins three gold medals at the 2023 Colorado Special Olympics Summer Games in Grand Junction.

By Terry Georgia
The Surveyor

Just five years ago Amelia Thompson (14) had never been in a swimming pool. In June she won three gold medals for swimming at Colorado’s Special Olympics State Summer Games in Grand Junction.

“Amelia has a seizure disorder and is non-verbal,” says her mom, Ali Thompson-Lehner, “but she’s the loudest, bossiest, non-verbal person you’ll ever meet!” Ali had never considered swimming as an option for Amelia until the day Amelia jumped into a pool before anyone could stop her. “She really wanted to swim,” said Ali, “so I got her a swimming teacher. During her lessons we saw the Loveland Special Olympics swim team practicing.” Those swimmers gave Amelia a new goal: learning to swim the 25 yards it takes to qualify for a spot on the team. She qualified in 2018.

Amelia is the youngest member of the Colorado Special Olympics “Loveland Swimming” team, whose members vary in age from 14 to 67. Members have a variety of intellectual and developmental disabilities, none of which stop them from being dedicated athletes. “All of our athletes are just amazing,” beams Ali, who is not only a proud mom, but also one of four assistant coaches for the team. Back in 2020, in cautionary COVID-19 times, swim practices were a challenge. Loveland swimming head coach, Diane Hlavacek, needed help and tried to convince Ali to become an assistant coach for the team. “I was a single mom with a full time job,” recalls Ali, who didn’t think she had the capacity to handle another obligation, “Just come to practice with her, Diane said to me. I agreed to try it and now, you can’t pry me away from this. I’m fully invested. I fell in love with these kids.”

Ten members of the team went to the Colorado State Games in June. Amelia entered three races and won gold in each. In the 50 meter backstroke she shaved 13 seconds off her personal best time. In the 100 meter IM (Individual Medley), she had to swim 25 meters each of all four major strokes, backstroke, breaststroke, butterfly and freestyle. Ameila had barely started learning the butterfly prior to the games, but she swam away with another gold medal. Everyone who knows her was most impressed with Amelia’s performance in the 50 meter freestyle. “During practices she’d always swim a few strokes then doggy paddle for a while,” recalled Ali, “but when that whistle blew [at the State Games] she made a perfect entry and swam the most beautiful front crawl I’ve ever seen. It blew everybody away. All the coaches were looking at each other across the pool with expressions that said, “who is this kid and where has she been?” It was hilarious!” And it was another gold medal performance.

When asked what she likes about competing in the Special Olympics, Amelia replied to her mom using sign language, “Special Olympics is fun. I get to swim, make friends, learn, and earn medals!”

Elizabeth Aslin is the northeast regional manager for Special Olympics Colorado. By her count there were more than 600 Colorado athletes from 78 teams across the state competing in Colorado’s Summer Games. In all there are more than 20,500 Special Olympics athletes in the state. She said, via email, “Special Olympics’ mission is to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.

Special Olympics Colorado offers 21 sports across four seasons, starting at age two, with competitive opportunities starting at age eight and lasting a lifetime. Special Olympics programs are in more than 575 schools across the state, from pre-school to college. Berthoud Elementary, Ivy Stockwell Elementary, Turner Middle School and Berthoud High School all participate. More than 1,000 volunteer coaches and 9,000 volunteers support Special Olympics Colorado in competitions and fundraising events throughout the year.

Amelia’s “bonus” sister, Sydney Lehner (16) became a volunteer assistant coach for Loveland Swimming after her dad married Ali and the family blended. What started as a volunteer project for school credit has turned into a family passion. “I hit the “bonus family” lottery,” said Ali about her “bonus” daughter, husband and in-laws all coming out to Grand Junction to support Amelia, “When you start to work with people with special needs, it pulls you in. I love these athletes so much.”
Amelia will be heading to Loveland High School as a freshman in the fall to take advantage of their specialized programs, especially support with sign language. And she will continue swimming.

Special Olympics Colorado is always open to accepting new athletes, coaches, unified partners (individuals without intellectual disabilities who train and compete as teammates alongside Special Olympics athletes) and volunteers to help with fundraising events throughout the year.
For more information, visit: https://specialolympicsco.org.