“Twenty-out-of-ten experience.”
That’s how Prince George’s Malachy Stewart described his experience at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin.
Stewart was on Team Canada’s Basketball team at the games, and brought home a gold medal.
“I first thought to myself, ‘I’m taking gold’, I’d just meditate each night, I was like ‘I’m getting gold, I’m taking gold, I’ll do anything I can to get gold, and if I put my mind to it, I can achieve anything I can in life,” he said.
“Right when that buzzer rang, I was like ‘wow’, I knew I could achieve anything, and I did, and it felt very amazing, I was just so excited. To get to experience it with my team is also super fun.”
Stewart said it’s a feeling he’ll never forget.
“Just playing for my country as well, that was another thing, playing for Team Canada was amazing,” he added.
“To show off my country, and that I’m a Canadian, that was very cool, and I was very proud to be there.”
Other than the games, Stewart said the opening ceremonies was the coolest part of the trip.
“We had all the countries coming out, one by one,” he explained.
“There’s thousands of people, all just waving, it was so touching and a great feeling. There were fireworks everywhere, it was super, super cool, and just to see all the other countries there, and to cheer them on, it just felt so amazing.”
Stewart said he loved Berlin, and he wants to go back.
“Everyone’s so friendly there, and it actually feels like a very safe place, I honestly could live there,” he said.
For now, he said he’s going to continue to play basketball, keep practicing, and he hopes to go back to the World Games again.