Lynch/van Otterloo Special Olympics Swim Team Takes Home Medals

Marblehead/Swampscott Bluefish Special Olympic Swim Team from the Lynch /van Otterloo YMCA cleaned house at the Summer Games this past weekend!

In February, local resident Emily Korriku, Associate Aquatics Director for the Lynch/van Otterloo YMCA, participated in the Passion Plunge Fundraiser at Revere Beach to send a YMCA swim team to the Special Olympics for the very first time.

Now, almost four months later, that team has not only made it to the Special Olympics through a qualifying meet and lots of hard work, they have lots of medals to show for it.

“I am so proud of the dedication and hard work these swimmers have shown over the last four months,” said Korriku. “Their performance exceeded my expectations.”

This past weekend at Harvard University, the team of seven swimmers competed for the first time in the Summer Games.

• Anthony Green won Gold for the 10 yd assisted swim
• Jack Zelloe won two Gold medals for 25 & 50 yd Freestyle
• Alex Linsky won Silver for the 25 yd Freestyle
• Isaiah Robbins won Gold for the 25 yd breast stroke and Silver for the 25 yd freestyle
• Jeremy Nisbet won Silver for 25 backstroke and Gold for the 25 breaststroke
• Steven Scranton won Gold for the 50 yd free and Bronze for the 25 yd freestyle
• Mary Cuffe won two Gold medals for the 25 & 50 yd freestyle
• To wrap up the day, the Freestyle relay won a Silver medal

In addition to winning medals, every one of the Bluefish swimmers swam his or her best time. The swimmer’s parents were delighted with the progress the team has made since the qualifying meet which was held over two months ago.

"Attending the Special Olympic Games was a moving experience,” said Jack Zelloe’s mom, Christiana Naeser. “Every athlete there has a story and behind each athlete, there's a network of family, friends and community supporting them. Each athlete is provided the opportunity to succeed and no judgments are made. Many thanks go to Emily Korriku for organizing the Marblehead/Swampscott Bluefish."

The Marblehead Swampscott Bluefish head coach along with her three assistants Lindsey Bryant, Ben Madigan-Fried, and Hannah Verrette are extremely proud of their team’s success and look forward to training for next year's summer games.

Korriku has a degree and background in special education, and has been working to create a team for the Special Olympics for three years, beginning with an adaptive swim class.

The adaptive swim class, specifically designed for children with special needs, uses water education to develop water safety, swimming skills and social skills while developing self-confidence and self-esteem.

The program is designed to meet each child’s emotional and developmental abilities.

“Over the past training season, the Bluefish swimmers have formed a bond,” said Korriku. “Every practice, they support, encourage and cheer each other on. Everyone looks forward to the last five minutes of class where we have free time, play games together and award the ‘Swimmer of the Day’ with a prize. These kids are a team in the truest sense of the word.”

To learn more about this swim program, or to donate and help send the team to the Special Olympics, contact Emily Korriku at 781-990-7040 or korrikue@northshoreymca.org.