Special Olympians To Be Honored For Outstanding Sportsmanship

ST. LOUIS, MO — Special Olympians Carla Collins and Kaleb Carter will be honored at the upcoming St. Louis Musial Wards for the outstanding sportsmanship they displayed at the games over the summer. Both participated in the Special Olympics bocce tournament in June, an Oregon newspaper, the News-Review, reports, but due to a scoring error, the pair were awarded gold medals meant for other contestants.

According to Special Olympics rules participants don’t have to give up their medal, but when Fummerton informed the team there was an error in the scoring of the Medford tournament they decided to hand their gold medals to the rightful winners, the team from Josephine County.

“God told me (to give up the medal), or my dad, because he’s with God,” Carter said.

The awards, named for Major Leaguer Stan Musial, will be held Saturday. Other honorees include Olympic runner Abbey D’Agostino, who after colliding with a fellow runner in the 2016 games decided to help her competitor across the finish line; NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, who shook hands with the driver that wrecked him near the end of a race last year; and others. Read more about Collins and Carter's heartwarming story from the News-Review.

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