Florida Teams Sweep the Field
Competition continued on Wednesday and Thursday at the Special Olympics USA Games as all 14 of the sports being showcased in the Games were in full swing and over 15,000 fans were gathered in venues across the Puget Sound region to cheer on the athletes.
The Stand Up Paddleboard team dominated the medal stand as awards were presented on Tuesday evening in Seattle. Consisting of Jennifer Averette (Monroe County), Daniel Fundora (Miami-Dade County), Vivy Pantoja, (Collier County), Lane “Hutch” Weeks (Walton County) and Curtis Fisher (Volusia County), each team member medaled in their respective event. Fundora and Fisher received gold while Averette, Pantoja, and Weeks received bronze.
The team joined athletes from Washington (five), South Carolina (five), Texas (four), Alabama (four) and Arkansas (two) on Monday and Tuesday. Races ranged from 800 to 3,500 yards in distance, with four levels of competition, and was the debut for Stand Up Paddleboard in the National games.