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Masato Yamane of Special Olympics Nippon (Japan) exults at his performance during the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan. Yamane won two silver medals in the 200M and 800M snowshoeing events, and his mother Kazue was a proud witness. |
At the 2005 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Nagano, Japan, there were unprecedented opportunities for families to network through daily discussion groups at each venue. Families were kept up to date with activities and family profiles through the Special Olympics Focus on Families newsletter, a Games “special edition” published each day.
One of the profiles was from Kazue Yamane, mother of Special Olympics Nippon (Japan) athlete Masato, who explained the impact that Special Olympics has had on her family:
“Our dream has finally come true! Our son, Masato was born autistic and we felt that disappointed that our son would not be normal like other children. Luckily we introduced Masato to the wonderful world of Special Olympics, and our lives and his were changed forever. Masato began to change; he gained self-confidence and eventually developed a desire to interact with everyone he met.
"As his smile grew as a result of the happiness that Special Olympics brought to him, so to did his dedication. Masato competes in snowshoeing. However, there is no snow where we live. To train for the games, Masato would strap on his snowshoes and run through the sand, with the encouraging thoughts of one day competing in Nagano against athletes from all over the world."
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