A 15-year-old girl has qualified for the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Italy next year - the only person from Windsor-Essex to qualify.
Breanna Williams has qualified for figure skating for Team Canada and will attend the Winter Games in March 2025 in Turin, Italy.
This will be her second trip for figure skating after competing at the Calgary 2024 Special Olympics World Winter Games earlier this year.
Williams, who is long-time client of the John McGivney Children's Centre, says she has been skating and practicing since she was four-years-old.
"I'm so excited to go to see this experience."
She says she will have a lot of support in Italy.
"My mom, my brother, my grandparents, and my ribbon gymnastics coach, and then I have my figure skating coach with her family going."
Williams says she's going for gold.
"I won a medal in Calgary, and got a first place medal there and a bronze. And I'm hoping I can get first this competition."
She adds that her family, her coaches, and her John McGivney Children's Centre family congratulated her when she qualified.
Special Olympics Team Canada will compete in five winter sports: short track speed skating, figure skating, cross country skiing, alpine skiing and snowshoe.
The Special Olympics is specifically designed for individuals with intellectual disabilities, and some athlete may have co-exiting disabilities. It is different than the Paralympics - which is specifically designed for individuals with physical disabilities.