Athlete Returns Home After World Summer Games

Colin Davidson, a Special Olympics Massachusetts athlete, returned home to Northborough on July 6 after attending the 2011 World Summer Games in Athens, Greece.

Davidson and five additional SOMA team members were welcomed at Logan Airport by proud family and friends after competing on a world stage with 7,500 elite athletes from 185 different nations.

Davidson competed in track and field and won a silver medal in the 800 meter run and a gold medal in the 4X400 relay. He also took fourth in the 1500 meter run with a person best time of 5:39, over a minute faster than his previous best. He was thrilled to showcase his talents and forge new friendships with other top competitors from around the globe.  

Davidson’s athletic career with Special Olympics began over 15 years ago and from that moment forward, the organization has become part of his life every day. He is an accomplished and decorated athlete in athletics, basketball, football, golf, sailing, softball and alpine skiing.

Davidson is an excellent athlete and personable individual who represents SOMA well on the field and off the field as a Global Messenger; an ambassador for the organization who speaks about the benefits of being a Special Olympics athlete. Davidson participates in various fundraising efforts and is always well supported by his mother, Virginia who is actively involved in Special Olympics and is currently a SOMA board member.   

“SOMA is proud of Davidson and his accomplishments at the 2011 World Games,” said Special Olympics Massachusetts’ President and CEO Robert Johnson. “Athletes like Davidson promote inclusion for those with intellectual disabilities by demonstrating to the world what they are capable of achieving on and off the field.”   

The Special Olympics World Games 2011 was the apex of a long lasting movement founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who realized her dream of global inclusion — to create a world that is not dominated by those who are excluded but by those who are included.  They were significant as they took place without the presence of their founder, only two years after her death. For more information visit the World Games website. For more information on Davidson and his SOMA teammates, visit the Special Olympics site.

Submitted by the Special Olympics