Two Australian golfers are representing their country at the Special Olympics in Los Angeles starting this weekend.
In what is billed as the biggest sporting event in the world this year, 7000 athletes from 177 countries are competing across 24 sports in the World Summer Games for people with intellectual disabilities.
Golf is represented by Kathryn Wilson, from Queensland, and Darren Tait, from Canberra. Jeremy Smith, from Queensland, is the coach.
Wilson counts Adam Scott, Karrie Webb and Jason Day among her heroes. “It feels very good to be going to the World Games and I am very proud to know that I will wear the green and gold,’’ she said.
Tait is the oldest athlete on the team at 47 years old. He says: “The most exciting thing about representing Australia is doing well for my team.”
The golf competition at the Games is to be held at the Harding municipal golf course and the Wilson municipal golf course, both owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles.
The team is in Huntington Beach for training and cultural experiences as part of the Host Town program. They will head to their athlete village in Los Angeles on Saturday in preparation for the Opening Ceremony on Sunday at 11am AEST, with Michelle Obama, wife of the US President Barack Obama, performing the duties.
Overall, there are 76 Australian athletes competing in 12 sports.