3 P.E.I. athletes representing Canada at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games
Ellen MacNearney, Tommy Ling and Callum McEwan are in Italy for the Games
Three Prince Edward Islanders are among the 90 Canadian athletes at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Italy.
This is the 12th edition of the Games, which started on March 8 and continue until March 15.
"This is the highest level of competition for Special Olympics," said Charity Sheehan, the Canadian delegation's chef de mission as well as the executive director of Special Olympics P.E.I.
"They get to compete against the best in the world and they're ready to do that."
Ellen MacNearney and Tommy Ling are both competing in nordic skiing, while Callum McEwan is a figure skater.
Athletes from 102 countries from around the world gathered at the opening ceremony, which MacNearney said she really enjoyed.
"The opening ceremony was awesome," she said, adding the best parts for her were when the snow was coming down in the stadium and when the athletes came in.
MacNearney, who lives in Brudenell, has won dozens of medals in both swimming and skiing. She last competed at the Special Olympics World Games in 2013 in Pyeongchang, South Korea, where she won a gold and a bronze medal.
Twelve years later, she is attending these games with a different mindset.
"It makes a big difference because I was just Grade 12, just graduating from high school." she said. "And now I'm 30 years old."
MacNearney is competing in the 7.5-km finals on Thursday, followed by the 5-km finals on Friday.
For her, the best part of the experience isn't just the competition but also having her family there to cheer her on.
More than medals
While many athletes are seeking to add to Canada's medal count, that isn't the only goal.
"Some want to have personal bests, experience all these world games have to offer," Sheehan said.
"Others have that goal of having that gold, silver or bronze medal for sure, so everybody is going to leave it all on the snow and ice."
Tommy Ling has been a Special Olympics athlete for 14 years. Similarly to MacNearney, he's participated in both winter and summer events, including in the sport of bocce.
Meanwhile, this marks Callum McEwan's first-ever Special Olympics World Games.
With files from Island Morning