Glenview resident qualifies for Illinois Special Olympics | The Glenview Lantern
Glenview’s Luke Toussaint is among 21 Northern Suburban Special Recreation Association Gator athletes who will descend on Bloomington-Normal to compete in Illinois Special Olympics’ annual State Summer Games.
Toussaint will compete in track and field, and others have qualified in bocce, powerlifting and swimming.
In order to qualify, each athlete was required to win first place at each sport’s respective regional competition. In May, NSSRA’s track team walked away with 15 gold medals at the Special Olympics District Track Meet. Even better, each of the team’s 12 athletes qualified for the Summer Games, the first time an entire team has qualified in NSSRA’s 45 year history. Additionally, NSSRA is sending four bocce players, four powerlifters and one swimmer to compete in the Summer Games.
NSSRA’s athletes won 34 gold, 18 silver and 12 bronze medals in qualifying competitions, with some athletes qualifying for more than one event.
“The coaching staff couldn’t be more proud of the athletes and their effort this season,” said Mark Schultz, NSSRA recreation specialist for athletics and fitness. “So many of them were asked to try new events or new techniques and they never hesitated. They always rose to the challenges presented to them.”
“With our teams only practicing once a week, it’s hard to touch on everything,” Schultz continued. “Many of the athletes came to the coaches and asked for training they could be doing outside of practice to stay sharp or stay in shape.”
The Illinois State Summer Games are held annually at Illinois State University, attracting more than 4,000 athletes from districts throughout the state.