St. Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris; Ivor Blake, National Director, Special Olympics St. Kitts & Nevis
Prime Minister Dr. the Hon. Timothy Harris was part of a large welcoming party, which included Junior Minister of Health, Senator the Hon. Wendy Phipps and other senior government officials, parents, officials from the National Olympic Committee, coaches and other well-wishers, that turned up at the Robert L. Bradshaw International Airport VIP Lounge earlier today to welcome home our very special, Special Olympians who made our nation proud once again.
The young Olympians exceptional performances resulted in St. Kitts and Nevis capturing a record breaking 23 medals (11 Gold, 10 Silver and 2 Bronze) at the recently concluded 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games which opened on July 25th in Los Angeles, California. The Games featured 6,500 Special Olympics athletes from 165 nations demonstrating their courage, determination and sportsmanship before a world audience, whilst competing in 25 Olympic-type sports including Aquatics, Athletics, Basketball, Volleyball, Bocce, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Powerlifting and Tennis.
In welcoming our very Special Olympians, Prime Minister Harris thanked the large crowd that turned out at short notice to “give a national welcome to the heroes and heroines who represented St. Kitts and Nevis abroad”. On behalf of the government he thanked all the participants for an “excellent showing” at the recent Games. “Their performances have been exceptional…they brought glory to the name of St. Kitts and Nevis”, he said. PM Harris went on to promise further national recognition for the athletes. “The national community deserves to provide them with continuing support and acclaim. And so I am happy that so many of you came to the airport today and we were able to put this simple ceremony together and at a later date the line Ministry will appropriately, in a more celebratory way, reflect the deep commitment and support of the government and the nation for this outstanding accomplishment.”
Congratulations to our record breaking Special Olympians!