ESPECIALLY EVENTFUL

By Sean Barron

‘They’re winners in their hearts’ at memorial meet

About 60 special-needs swimmers took part in Sunday’s event at YSU.

YOUNGSTOWN — To those who knew her, Kelly Jo Carlson was a source of inspiration who savored as much fun as possible from everything she did.

Carlson always enjoyed taking part in swimming, tennis, softball and other sports. She also loved giving her time at numerous Special Olympics events, her family and friends say.

“She was the consummate team athlete,” said her father, Paul.

Carlson’s mother, Lois, recalled that her daughter began swimming at age 9 and swam all four years of high school, where she earned 11 varsity letters and was student body president.

Their daughter also was the inspiration behind Sunday’s fifth annual Area 11 Kelly Jo Carlson Memorial Swim Meet at Youngstown State University’s Beeghly Center. Hosting the three-hour competition was Trumbull County Fairhaven, an agency that works closely with the Carlson family.

Carlson, a Warren Western Reserve High School and Kent State University graduate, died April 21, 2004. She was completing her master’s degree in business administration at Webster University in San Diego.

Since then, her family and friends have sponsored the

“She was always a fun, positive and uplifting person with a huge smile, and she always knew what to say to make people feel good about themselves,” said Carlene Whittaker of Mineral Ridge, one of Carlson’s best friends.

About 60 special-needs swimmers from Mahoning, Trumbull, Columbiana, Ashtabula and Summit counties took part in any of 13 freestyle, backstroke, butterfly and breaststroke events. Races were broken down partly by age and level of competition, organizers said.

Some swimmers suffer from Down syndrome or mental retardation. Special Olympics serves people with mental retardation and/or developmental disabilities.

Jeanette Johnson, who’s attended Fairhaven since age 3, looked forward to taking part in the 25-meter and 50-meter freestyle. Johnson, 28, lives with her parents, Tim and Martha Johnson of Niles.

“To these [swimmers], it doesn’t matter where they place; they’re winners in their hearts,” Martha Johnson said, adding that her daughter has participated in all five memorial swims.

All participants received a medal or ribbon, as well as an opportunity to take part in a state tournament in December in Columbus, noted Bo Greene, an assistant gym teacher at Trumbull Fairhaven.

For years, Kelly Jo’s grandfather was a track official who worked at a Special Olympics track meet every year. The events helped to plant a seed in Kelly Jo about the value of volunteering, said her sister, Kristen Matthus of Canton.

The annual swim meets also act as reunions, where Kelly Jo’s family and friends gather to talk about and remember her, Matthus added.

Besides swimming competitions, Special Olympics athletes participate in bowling, track and field, roller and ice skating, golf, cross-country running and skiing, noted Jack Muransky, coordinator of Area 11, a region that includes most of Northeast Ohio. Events go year-round, he said.

“There’s always something going on,” Muransky added.