St. Madeleine Sophie's Center Student To Compete in 2015 Special Olympics World Games

    SAN DIEGO, CA, May 14, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The city of stars will shine even brighter this summer as a St. Madeleine Sophie's Center (SMSC) student takes center stage at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games. Betsy Cory is the first student from St. Madeleine Sophie's Center and one of only three students from the San Diego region to be chosen to participate in the World Games.

Cory took home a gold medal in last summer's Special Olympics USA Games; her ticket to this once in a lifetime opportunity. Every athlete that received a gold medal was then entered in a drawing to compete in the 2015 World Games, and Cory was amongst the winners as one of just 36 Southern California competitors.

Special Olympics empower people with intellectual disabilities to become accepted and valued members of their communities, and that's just why St. Madeleine Sophie's Center has its 48 Triton swim team athletes compete in Special Olympics swim meets every Spring along with the other 1,400 Special Olympics athletes from San Diego.

The 46-year-old student has attended St. Madeleine Sophie's Center for three years and has found her passion swimming with her Triton teammates. Now Cory has the opportunity to represent Team USA among more than 7,000 athletes from 177 countries.

At St. Madeleine Sophie's Center, Cory trains with her coach Kim Holt, the Aquatics Manager for the Center and Head Coach for the SMSC Triton Swim Team. "Since we learned Betsy would be competing at World Games, she has given 100% to her weekly training and is so excited to be part of Team USA," says Holt. Cory will be competing in the 50 yard Freestyle, 50 yard Backstroke, and the 4 x 50 yard Freestyle Relay as one of the 38 aquatics athletes on Team USA

"St. Madeleine Sophie's Center and I are so proud to have Betsy join Team USA in Los Angeles come July," says Debra Emerson, CEO of SMSC. "The mission of the Special Olympics is such an important part of our community at the Center and to be able to support our student athlete competing at this global level is thrilling."

The World Games will be the largest sports and humanitarian event anywhere in the world this year, and the single biggest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympics Games. More than 500,000 spectators are expected to cheer on the global competitors

The 301 Team USA athletes, chosen from around the country, train with their local teams and coaches then come together at the games to become one team.

About St. Madeleine Sophie's Center

St. Madeleine Sophie's Center serves 400+ adults with developmental disabilities, through nationally recognized, innovative programs. Its mission is to educate and empower individuals with developmental disabilities to realize their full potential. Developmental disabilities include autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, and other cognitive disorders for which there are no cures. St. Madeleine's combines its culture of care and creativity within quality programs to provide liberal arts education, practical skills development, employment and dignity for a lifetime. Programs are offered on a staff-to-student ratio of 1:3 to 1:6, depending upon the level of each student's ability. These programs include: Activity Center; Adult Development Center; Seniors (for adults age 55+); Behavior Modification; Supported Employment; and Work Activity Program.

St. Madeleine's has three sites: its main campus on the outskirts of El Cajon; Sophie's Gallery and Gift Shop in Downtown El Cajon; and a satellite gallery, Sophie's Kensington Gallery, a collaborative gallery with Kensington Gallery, a venture of the Autism Research Institute.

For more information on St. Madeleine Sophie's Center, visit http://www.stmsc.org.
For more information about Special Olympics, visit http://www.specialolympics.org.
For more information about The 2015 Special Olympics World Games, visit http://www.LA2015.org.

# # #