Family, friends and the community gathered Friday evening at Morden's 55+ Activity Centre to celebrate the silver medal Colleen Voth won in 10-pin bowling at the 2023 Special Olympics World Games held June 17th to 25th in Berlin, Germany.
Voth, who is originally from Altona and now living in Morden, is a member of the Valley Rollers 10-pin bowling club, which practices out of VB's Entertainment Centre in Winkler, and has been involved in Special Olympics programming for decades. She was selected for Team Canada in the Fall of 2022, and spent the following months preparing with her local training coach Chris Sumner.
"We were all hugely pumped when we found out she was going," said her brother Ken who was at the celebration, alongside a number of Colleen's family members. "We were all so excited for her for what we consider a trip of a lifetime and opportunity. We tried to follow every score and everybody wanted to know where she was at. How's she doing... just that she was doing okay personally, but how her bowling was going, and that this would be a really good experience."
Meanwhile, Sumner, who also MC'd the evening, shared with those gathered what the weeks and months leading up to her flight overseas was like.
"My job was to get Colleen prepared for the challenge to come, not only the bowling side of the competition, but also the new experiences of traveling to another country and competing alongside other Special Olympics athletes from around the world," he said from the podium. "I can't tell you how many practice games we rolled, we'll say a lot. We practiced corner pins and split spares until I don't think there were any corner pins left at the bowling alley. The sport specific training was very important, but just as important, were those times between practice when we would talk about our days, what we're having for supper that night, the experience of flying to Germany and how to manage our emotions throughout the entirety of this new experience."
Ken isn't entirely sure if it's sunk in yet for his sister what she's accomplished, but there's no doubt she is happy and proud of what she did.
"Considering all the hockey and baseball that our boys have played, she's outdone all of us with what she accomplished at the Olympics," he shared. "We have a lot of trophies and medals, but nothing close to an Olympic medal, so this is just great for her."
"I was shocked," said Colleen when asked how she felt when she found out she had won silver at the Games. And what about the turn out to recognize her? "I am amazed how many came today."
Voth bowled well above her average during the medal round at the Games, and was only a handful of pins away from winning gold in her division.
Colleen was one of only eight Manitoban athletes to be selected for Team Canada. The group brought home a total of 15 medals, including seven gold. The sports included Basketball, Golf, Bocce, Athletics, Rhythmic Gymnastics and Bowling.
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