DATE: Saturday, April 26, 1997              TAG: 9704260345

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B5   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY NANCY YOUNG, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE                        LENGTH:   70 lines

SPECIAL STUDENTS ENJOY SPECIAL COMPETITION CHESAPEAKE GAMES STRESSED THE JOY OF VICTORY FOR CHILDREN FROM 39 SCHOOLS.

Call her Rocky.

Last year, Annette Williams, 18, had to learn how to walk again after having a tumor removed from her foot that was so large she couldn't get a shoe on.

It was a reminder of how hard it was the first time, when she was an infant plagued with seizures. When she was born, doctors doubted she would live more than a year.

This year the Oscar Smith High School student is a Chesapeake Olympian - along with 770 other special education students, representing 39 schools, who competed in the district's first Special Olympic Games Friday.

``I'm really proud of her. She's really had it hard,'' said Carolyn Williams, Annette's mother. ``It was a struggle just for her to learn how to walk. I wouldn't let her give up.''

The pride Williams felt in her daughter was mirrored hundreds of times over at an athletic event that seemed to have a whole lot more to do with the joy of victory than with the agony of defeat.

More than 300 volunteers donated their time for the event at Oscar Smith High School, which is not to be confused with the national organization known as the Special Olympics.

This year, the district decided to organize its own games because officials wanted to hold an event open to all the city's special education students, said Carol Herbert, a special education administrator and organizer of the event.

``As long as the kids give it rave reviews, that's all that matters,'' said Herbert.

There was no shortage of rave reviews.

``It is fun,'' said Jermaine Wilson, 11, a fifth-grader at Crestwood Intermediate School.

Jermaine had yet to run in his premiere event, the 100-meter dash, but said he wasn't nervous.

``If I get last, I get last. It's just all fun,'' said Jermaine.

``I'm his trainer,'' piped in fellow fifth-grader Tony Barron, 10.

Had Jermaine been training hard?

Tony started to nod, then smiled mischievously.

``Not quite,'' he said, obviously kidding.

Fifth-grader Joey Brown, 11, also of the Crestwood team, said he didn't have to train at all for his second place finish in the kickball event.

``It just went straight down,'' Joey said of his award-winning kick.

``I take my hat off to the people who organized this,'' School Board member Allen H. Goode Jr. said of the special education department.

For the students, ``this day they'll remember, more so than they'll remember a lot of things. This will stay with them.''

For Goode, the day was also a nice reunion with a student whom he had tutored a few years ago and who was now competing for Sparrow Road Intermediate School.

``It was fun seeing him again,'' Goode said.

Also having fun, and great success, was John Cloud, 21, a junior at Oscar Smith.

``He's been excited since very early this morning,'' said Thuy Lam, a fellow junior at Oscar Smith who was volunteering for the day.

In preparation for his 50-meter dash race, John was stretching and doing push-ups. It paid off. He was a first place winner and was equally confident of his chances in the softball throw.

``I've got power,'' he said. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MORT FRYMAN/The Virginian-Pilot

Two Marines, above, encourage Tina Gregory and Kristin O'Neill as

they walk the 50-meter race. At right, teacher Mary Pat Stephenson

hugs 4-year-old Joey Markovich, for winning a tricycle race. KEYWORDS: SPECIAL OLYMPICS

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