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Special Olympics Austria's handball team captain Marx Joseph (left) and his coach, Marco Angelini, make a powerful combination.
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Special Olympics Austria team handball captain Marx Joseph, 20, can make you gasp in surprise and then hoot with laughter at a unique, uncanny ability he has. But he also has an edge to him. “I keep things bottled up inside. Sport is a way to release those emotions and aggression in a positive way on the court. Happiness is the end result,” he said.
Team coach Marco Angelini, 23, a medical student and aspiring surgeon said Marx is the team's best shooter. “He never gets tired and encourages his teammates to think positively when the team is behind in a game. He rallies the team and keeps them together.
This pleasant and charming young player has had his share of adversity. Abandoned by his parents to live with a foster family, Marx now lives in an apartment building with others who have intellectual disabilities and work together in a sheltered workshop. “My foster family and I don't have any contact nor do I have any support from them.” He's had to fend for himself for the last year. “I yearn for the relationship of a loving family. Someday I will have that. It's my dream,” he said.
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After winning their first match, Special Olympics Austria lost a tight contest to Special Olympics China.
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Marx joined Special Olympics two years ago and loves handball. And he and his teammates learned from the best. His coach was a professional handball player for 12 years and coached the country's floor hockey team at the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Marco is inspired by the difference between Special Olympics competitors and Olympic competitors in that the former are much more gracious in defeat.
“Olympic contenders are bitterly disappointed when they don't win a gold medal. They are not satisfied with a silver medal. Special Olympics players are always happy for the other team's gold-medal win and just as satisfied with whatever they themselves win, even if it's seventh or eighth place. They are just thrilled to have the opportunity to compete. That's why I love Special Olympics,” Said Marco.
Marx said Special Olympics has given him the opportunity to travel the world, something he would never have the opportunity to do otherwise he explained.
What's Marx's unique ability? His facial muscles are so elastic that he can transform his appearance by folding his features into wildly hilarious expressions. “I do it because I love to hear people laugh. The sound of laughter is like music to me.”
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