Close to people | Stories from Bethel
To Berlin for the big tee-off
The Special Olympics World Games are currently underway in Berlin. Around 7,000 athletes with disabilities from more than 190 nations are taking part in the competitions. Lukas Kollmeyer from Bielefeld is also taking part and is competing for Germany in the golf discipline. The employee of a Bethel workshop spent months preparing intensively for the major sporting event: He trained three times a week - on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. His anticipation for Berlin was huge.
Short putt, long putt, chip shot, pitch shot - the 22-year-old knows the special stroke techniques inside out. In the competition, he competes in the Level 1 class. The players have to hit the balls into the hole or as close as possible using predetermined hitting techniques. How does that work best? "You have to concentrate, take your time when hitting the ball, look exactly where the hole is and then aim well," explains Lukas Kollmeyer. The closer the individual balls get to the target, the more points are awarded.
Lukas Kollmeyer got into golf through a club at Bethel's Mamre Patmos special school. "We're not really a golf-loving family," says mum Anja Kollmeyer. "But Lukas was asked in sixth form if he wanted to join in - and he was keen." That was six and a half years ago. Due to hemiplegia, Lukas has played with one hand from the start. "Golf has done him a lot of good," says Anja Kollmeyer. "Both in terms of his posture and walking, as well as from a social point of view. The interaction with the other golfers is great. You meet up at tournaments and it's nice to see friendships forming."
The Special Olympics World Games are the biggest and most important sporting event for Lukas to date. "He's in really good shape," says Anja Kollmeyer. The best prospects for the competition. Coach Bradley Kerr also sees them: "Lukas is in a very good position for the Games. He has been very hard-working over the past few years and has made great progress. Now his enthusiasm for the sport is paying off." So far, things are also going very well for the young man: after three match days, he is only three points behind the leaders in his performance category. Lukas Kollmeyer was already a little nervous, he reveals. However, the experience he gained at last year's national games, when he was also competing to qualify for the World Games, will stand him in good stead: "Back then, the competitions lasted four days. That was a bit exhausting - but it was also a lot of fun." His mum is keeping her fingers crossed for him off the pitch.
*** Update ***
The training has paid off: Lukas Kollmeyer has won silver and was therefore allowed to stand on the winner's podium. Klaus-Hermann Bunte, head of the Mamre Patmos School, and coach Bradley Kerr were delighted with his great sporting success.
Sophia Schmidt competes in tennis
Tennis player Sophia Schmidt is also taking part in the games in Berlin and is competing in her second World Games. The 24-year-old got into the sport through a friend, but her training really took off when she attended the tennis club at the Mamre Patmos School, which Sophia Schmidt attended from 2009 to 2019. She has now been playing tennis for 15 years and works as a school counsellor in Gütersloh. Sophia Schmidt took part in the Special Olympics World Games in Athens in 2011 and has competed in the national games several times. "I'm hoping for a good result at the games in Berlin," she says, "but I'm also looking forward to gaining great new experiences and meeting new people."
"I'm looking forward to gaining great new experiences and meeting new people."
Sophia Schmidt's father accompanied the athlete to the opening ceremony in Berlin's Olympic Stadium and was delighted with the atmosphere in the capital: "The atmosphere is unique. It's pure joie de vivre."
*** Update ***
Sophia Schmidt was able to fulfil her own wish for a good placing: She won gold in the doubles with her partner Paula Polak. She is in the singles final.
Text: Marten Siegmann | Photos: Sarah Jonek, Marten Siegmann, private
This story simply told
The Special Olympics World Games are the world's largest inclusive sporting event. Thousands of athletes with intellectual and multiple disabilities compete in 26 sports. Lukas Kollmeyer and Sophia Schmidt are also taking part in the World Games in Berlin. Both came to their favourite sport through a working group at the Bethel special school.
