Two Antigonish County athletes have been named recipients of provincial awards by Special Olympics Nova Scotia.
Male Athlete of the Year is Christian Gerro, who competed in the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin in June of last year. Gerro won two medals at the games, a Gold in Standing Long Jump and Bronze in the 4 by 100 Metre Relay. Gerro ran the anchor leg in the relay. Gerro also finished 6th in the 100 metre A final in a very tight race, with less than a second between first and seventh place.
Christian Gerro. (Photo by L’Arche Antigonish)
Matthew Anderson receives the Frank Hayden Lifetime Achievement Award. Named after Dr. Frank Hayden, whose research sparked the Special Olympics movement more than 50 years ago, this award is presented to an athlete who best exemplifies the spirit, philosophy and goals of Special Olympics over the course of their career. Anderson has competed in Track and Field, Floor Hockey, Curling, Motion Ball and Unified Sport for two decades.
The announcement was made at Friday night’s opening ceremonies of the Special Olympics Nova Scotia Provincial Games at Acadia University in Wolfville. Gerro and Anderson will be presented with their awards at a Special Olympics Gala in Halifax next February.