Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012

Special Olympics athletes score gold in winter games

For a pair of North Raleigh athletes, winning gold medals at the Special Olympics of North Carolina Winter Games was more than a mere achievement.

It was a triumph.

Gabrielle Angelini won her gold medal in the novice slalom division, and Brian Buker won in the intermediate slalom division.

Just over five years ago, Buker, 27, was lying in a coma at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh after suffering traumatic brain injury in a car accident in Rolesville.

On Jan. 9, he stood on a winners’ podium at the Appalachian Ski Resort in Blowing Rock to receive a Special Olympics gold medal in skiing.

It was the second year in a row he had won a gold medal in the sport.

Growing up in Wake Forest, Buker was an avid skier and tennis player until the accident on Aug. 16, 2006, left him in a two-month coma, robbed him of most of his mental and physical faculties, and nearly killed him.

“It could have gone either way,” he said, flashing a merry grin. “I have had to relearn almost everything. How to walk, talk and interact with others. I was a mid-20s toddler.”

Buker, who had been a student at East Carolina University at the time of the accident, is a student at Wake Technical Community College. He is studying business and marketing, and is just three hours short of earning an associate degree.

He recently got a new driver’s license and works part time at DSW Shoe Warehouse in North Raleigh.

“Brian is a born salesman,” said his stepfather, Jack Touchberry. “He has come a long way, and he is still making progress.”

In October, Buker received the City of Raleigh’s James E. Meekins Award for inspiring others with disabilities.

Buker was a daredevil before his accident, according to his stepfather.

“He was a black diamond skier,” Touchberry said. “After he got out of the hospital, he wanted to get back on his skis, and his basic skill was there.”

But the daredevil was gone. “The first time I tried, I was nervous, but now I’m almost back to my old self,” Buker said.

Buker found his way to Special Olympics through the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department. He had enjoyed skiing and tennis, and as he recovered, he and his family sought a way for him to get back into sports.

If Buker could have his way, he’d ski every week. “My dream is to ski in Colorado and someday in the Alps,” he said.

When he competed in the Special Olympics Winter Games last year, he was surprised when he qualified for the intermediate division in slalom. He had done plenty of downhill skiing but had never attempted a slalom course.

Next on his agenda is getting in shape for tennis, which is a Special Olympics fall sport.

Meanwhile, he is looking for opportunities to give back to those who have helped him and wants to volunteer. Someday he would like to be a Special Olympics coach.

When he accepted his Meekins Award last fall, he thanked Raleigh’s specialized recreation program for doing “an unbelievably great job providing opportunities for socialization and personal growth. And Special Olympics has allowed me to participate in tennis and skiing, two sports I really love.”

Gabrielle Angelini wins on her first try

Before the Winter Games, Gabrielle, 14, had never been on a pair of skis, but she was no stranger to Special Olympics.

A gold medal gymnast, Gabrielle was also a Proctor & Gamble cover girl, photographed with her mother, Mary, for the company’s coupon insert in January 2011.

At the Winter Games, Gabrielle discovered she was as much at home on a pair of skis as she was on a balance beam.

“This was her first time skiing, and she went from the bunny slope to the magic carpet slope in two hours,” Mary Angelini said.

The magic carpet is a conveyor belt that takes skiers to the top of gentler slopes.

But for the young athlete, the magic carpet was just the beginning. She enjoyed the large ski lift and had some words of encouragement for her mom who admitted to being nervous after falling while getting off.

“I told my mom to face her fears,” Gabrielle said with a laugh as she sat in her family’s kitchen holding her small dog, Willow.

Gabrielle competed for her gold medal on the novice course. She followed a red line painted in the snow, and skied around a series of flags.

“I didn’t fall down and I didn’t knock any of the flags down,” she said.

She had a good feeling about her performance and was not surprised when her name was called for the gold medal.

Gabrielle loves to play basketball and is on a regular recreational team at All Saints Academy where she goes to school, and where recess is her favorite subject.

What’s next for the perky athlete?

“The people at Special Olympics want her to sign up for roller derby,” her mom said.

Gabrielle doesn’t exactly know what roller derby is, but she’s eager to try.

After all, she’s not afraid of anything.

Notebook

Wake County Special Olympics athletes win in Winter Games: Gabrielle Angelini and Brian Buker were two out of more than a dozen Wake County Special Olympics athletes who won medals and ribbons in the Special Olympics of North Carolina’s Winter Games.

Other winners from Wake County were Erin Cagle, alpine glide; Romas Gabbrielli, novice snowboarding; and Zach Butler, novice snowboarding.

Athletes who won silver medals were Monica Hernandez for novice snowboarding and Richard Johnson for novice slalom.

Bronze medalists were Anita Jean Angenti, advanced slalom; Takichi Iwashima, advanced slalom; Michael Kregor, intermediate slalom; and Sara Laird, intermediate slalom.

Toma Vincent and Wade Davison won fourth place ribbons in the intermediate slalom, and Dianne Edwards received a participation ribbon in the intermediate slalom.

Athletes from Virginia also participated.

Raleigh runner second in Edinburgh race: Bobby Mack of Raleigh finished second in the men’s 8k race at the Bupa Great Edinburgh (Scotland) Cross Country on Jan. 7. His finishing time, 25:47, was just three seconds behind the winner, Ayad Lamdassen of Spain.

Winter Chill Tennis Challenge coming up: Tennis players of all ages are invited to participate in the third annual Winter Chill Tennis Challenge from 4 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Sponsored by Raleigh Racquet Club Indoor Tennis Facility, the event will benefit the WakeMed Children’s Hospital and will feature round robin doubles, quick start tennis, entertainment, contests, prizes and dinner.

The costs are: $40 per player 15 and older; $10 per child ages 5-14 for quick start tennis; $15 dinner only, ages 5 and up.

Register by today at www.childrencantwait.org or call 919-350-4596.