PROVO -- At age 39, Charles Newsome has participated in the Special Olympics for 30 years.
Thursday he took first place in the cycling trials. Today he rides in a cross-country race."It's great, I think it's great," the Kearns resident said.
Last year he attended the Special Olympics World Games in Raleigh, N.C., and placed first in the 10K cycling event and second in the 5K.
Newsome is one of more than 1,000 Special Olympians attending the three-day statewide event at Brigham Young University. Physically challenged athletes from ages 8 to 70 came to play in the games.
Playing in the games was on Tony Bradley's mind as he cheered on the sidelines during Thursday's parade and opening ceremonies. A blue "BYU" was painted on one cheek and a yellow cougar paw adorned the other. Bradley runs in the 200-meter race.
"I'm going to do a good job," he said.
But it was playing that seemed most on his mind. Winning would make it even better.
"It's fun and it's a lot of work," said coach Margaret Blake of St. George.
Participants make friends wherever they go, and they discover self-worth as they participate, she said. "They learn they can do things they didn't know they could do."
And they work hard at it probably twice as hard as other athletes, Blake said.
As the opening ceremonies got under way, the torch that law enforcement officers have run through the state for the past month made two rounds on the BYU track field.
The first round was with law enforcement officers, and the second was passed off between Special Olympians Judy Justison of Salt Lake, Jani Jensen of Logan, Lara McIntosh of the south Davis County area and Mike Yeates of Salt Lake City as escorts ran beside them. Yeates sprinted the last leg of the run to light the cauldron.
Channel 5 anchorwoman Shelly Osterloh handled emcee duties for the opening ceremonies, while Channel 13's Hope Woodside served as chairwoman of the torch run, called the "Flame of Hope."
The Special Olympics continue through Saturday.