Champions, smiles at Yokota's 30th Special Olympics

YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — Before this past weekend, Emma Finlay liked to keep her head firmly above water when in the pool. But the 14-year-old was all smiles — even as her hair was dripping wet — as she stood wearing a medal on the winner’s block and listening to the loud cheering that followed her swimming performance.

Many similar scenes were played out here on Saturday and Sunday.

Sometimes it was in the pool, other times it was on the running track, the basketball court or the bowling alley. Regardless, it’s part of what makes these games "special."

Yokota was hosting the Special Olympics for the 30th year. Adult and child athletes with intellectual disabilities from all over the Kanto Plain, including DODDS and Japanese schools, came to compete in a variety of athletic events.

For many, one event just wasn’t enough.

Finlay, who has Down syndrome, took home medals in both the long jump and the 15-meter swim. She also participated in the 50-yard dash and had planned on doing the 400-meter relay run before rain intervened Sunday.

It was Emma’s first time participating in the Special Olympics. Her father, Scott Finlay, the principal of Ikego Elementary School, said it was just good seeing his daughter compete.

"She’s always been a little bit nervous about the water, so it’s kind of nice to see her get in there and take the baby steps she needs to be a better swimmer, a better athlete and a better person," Finlay said.

While Emma was making her debut at the games, fifth-grader Jared Lopez was enjoying his third trip. He took part in the 25-meter freestyle swim Sunday along with the 200- and 400-meter runs Saturday.

His father, Paul Lopez, said once Jared was made aware of the dates of the games, he circled them on the calendar and didn’t forget about them.

"Every day we heard about it leading up to six weeks out, five weeks out, four weeks out, four days out, three days out," Lopez said. "Yeah, he was pretty geared up about it."

Lopez said along with his son’s achievements (Jared won medals), he was happy to see the friendships that arose out of the athletic contests. Before his freestyle swim Sunday, Jared was playing in the water with a Japanese participant who beat him in the 400-meter run a day earlier.

"The Japanese boy barely speaks English, and Jared barely speaks Japanese. Yet, they’re still able to establish a friendship," Lopez said. He added Jared’s autism can make such connections difficult.

"You can see through a competitive sport an otherwise anti-social disorder allows him to be friends with a complete stranger," he said.

Lindsay Vaughn, special education teacher for Sullivan’s Elementary School on Yokosuka Naval Base, volunteered for the fifth year to be the coach for all the special education kids from Yokosuka, including Jared and Emma. She said the games are "a really special event for the families."

"For a lot of these families, it’s sort of the first time that their kids get to compete on an equal playing field and have a chance at winning a medal or being up on the winner’s block," Vaughn said. "And it’s a weekend just dedicated to the kids."

Paul Lopez said that as long as his family is in Japan, Jared will be making return trips to the Special Olympics.

"It’s a friendly and a supportive competitiveness," Lopez said. "It’s really nice to watch, and it’s a lot of fun."