Arkansas Olympians share the Special Olympics experience

Little Rock, Arkansas – Team Arkansas came back with plenty of medals and smiles after almost a week of competing in the Sunshine state.

“They tapped me on the shoulder when it was my turn to run,” Briana Tate said. “Oh my gosh, it gave me the chills it was the best experience ever.”

Besides Tate is deaf, she still brought home two medals and a ribbon from her performances on the track. However, her favorite part was how they were treated like royalty.

“The private airline we got to fly on and all the pictures and everything,” Tate said.

After four days and 72 holes of golf, the Wallace brothers, Dakota and his unified partner Cole won gold. “He pretty much carried us,” Cole said. “He made three birdies on the first day then made another one later in the week and I only ended up with two. Really, he’s the one that got us the gold.”

“Cole is really good at golf,” Dakota added.

Showing that their team effort helped them win silver, the basketball team was pumped about their performance.

“All the coaches did a wonderful job,” Jerel Akins, one of the players said. “Yaya said that I’m such a great player. I don’t blame her on that cause we always undefeated cause we kept our heads high. We don’t back down from any challenge. We take it serious.”

The Next Special Olympics will be in Minnesota after four years.