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Suzanne O’Moore, 27, a 16-year veteran of Special Olympics Australia, was thrilled to be chosen to be a representative of the Special Olympics Asia Pacific region for the 2005 Special Olympics Global Athlete Congress because the movement has given so much to people around the world. The second Special Olympics Global Athlete Congress, held 6-8 June 2005 in Panama City, provided a forum for the movement's leaders — the athletes — to discuss pressing issues and make recommendations to change Special Olympics policies.
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O'Moore, of Brisbane, Australia, serves on the Board of Special Olympics Australia hoping to help make a future for athletes at all levels. An athlete for 16 years, she has competed in swimming and gymnastics. O'Moore spends much of her time as a peer coach, guiding other athletes to achieve their goals and speaking to school students, encouraging them to never give up. |
“If people would believe in us like Special Olympics and see what we can do, they’d be amazed,” she said. Unfortunately, athletes often run into brick walls of “non-expectations.” Like when the doctors told her parents that she’d always have to be cared for and never have a job. She trumped the nay-sayers by graduating from high school and landing a great job with the Real Estate Institute of Queensland. “My ambition in life is to turn ‘no’ into ‘yes.’ If someone says I can’t do something, I want to prove I can.”
Growing up, O’Moore switched schools many times until she found one that suited her special needs. Still, there were some students who were prejudiced. “They’d ask me why I didn’t have my driver’s license (She started driving at 24), and they cracked jokes about my disability. But since then, I have really developed because of Special Olympics,” she said. “It helped me come out of my shell — especially with the opportunity to achieve so much, like competing at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games and my involvement with the Athlete Leadership Programs.”
O’Moore, one of five girls, lives at home with her parents. And maybe it’s the lure of the beach or the itch of independence, but, lately, she’s been thinking of striking out on her own to live an hour away on the Gold Coast.
“I’ve achieved so much with Special Olympics that I thought I could never do," said O'Moore. "I never thought I’d be representing Australia; I thought only professionals represented their countries, not me; but here I am at this Congress!"
The article above originally appeared in Spirit magazine; O'Moore's profile below is by Manwadu Rofhiwa and Mukovhe Ralulimi, reporting from the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games as participants in the Global Youth Summit
Like her role model Ian Thorpe, Suzanne O'Moore floated swiftly to a resounding victory in the preliminaries at the National Aquatic Centre 26 June, 2003. The new Special Olympics 100m freestyle sensation clocked a magnificent 1:09 minutes — the fastest time recorded among all the heats.
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Suzanne O'Moore in action at the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games, where she won a Gold Medal in the 400m Freestyle Division 1 Final at the National Aquatics Centre, Abbotstown, Dublin, Ireland. [Photo by Eric Luke, IRELAND OUT] |
The Australian never dreamt she'd have the opportunity to represent her country in an international event until the day she met Special Olympics Global Messengers at her school, Mount Maria Senior College, and began training with coach Elisabeth Ewen at the Wavell Heights Amateur Swimming Club.
In an interview with the Global Youth Summit participants of South Africa, O'Moore proudly revealed the success behind her quality performance.
"I worked very hard during training," she said."My training program started 12 months ago. I went to the pool four times a week and the gym twice a week."
Winning a medal is not O'Moore's ultimate goal, as she is more interested in enjoying herself and in achieving a personal best. [Editor's note: she did win gold in the finals.]
"Special Olympics changed my life completely," she said. "I now have courage and believe in myself. Now I just want to go out and make some friends," she concluded.
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