University of Houston Athletics
Swimming and Diving Works with Special Olympics
9/24/2002 12:00:00 AM | Swimming & Diving
Sept. 24, 2002
SUGAR LAND, Texas - Members of the University of Houston Swimming and Diving Team put on a show for a special group of athletes in early September - literally.
The Cougars participated in the Unified Sports Relays with Special Olympians on Sept. 7 at the Don Cook Natatorium in Fort Bend I.S.D. From there, the diving team, led by three-time NCAA national champion Yulia Pakhalina, conducted a diving clinic for the Special Olympics coaches and athletes.
"Since most of the swimmers and divers on our team came from community programs, it is very important that we give something back to the community," said first-year UH swimming head coach Mark Taylor.
Special Olympians from Fort Bend, Waller, Harris and Brazoria counties competed all day in a variety of events, including freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, relays and Unified Sports relays.
Pakhalina, who earned a gold medal in synchronized diving at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, displayed her medal to the Special Olympians and posed for pictures with the Olympians wearing the medal atop an awards platform.
Swimmers like Kristen Douglass and Vicki Blocker worked with some Special Olympian swimmers who were 10 and 20 years old than them, shouting encouragement and praise while walking the length of the pool.
"It just showed the level of compassion that our student-athletes have for other people," Taylor said. "I was very proud of all of them."
Special Olympics Texas is a privately funded, non-profit organization that provides year-round sports training to more than 27,000 children and adults with mental retardation in the Lone Star State. In the Greater Houston area, more than 4,000 athletes compete in 16 sports.
The Cougars begin their 2002-03 season when they compete at the Bayou City Relay Invitational on Oct. 11-12. The event will be hosted by crosstown rival Rice at the Rice Pool and features UH, Rice, North Texas and Trinity.
