Special Olympics National Winter Games 2023: Waikato snowboarder Jarrod Gilbert wins gold

Waikato snowboarder Jarrod Gilbert celebrates his gold medal in the giant slalom at the Special Olympics National Winter Games 2023. Photo / Special Olympics New Zealand

Waikato athletes Jarrod Gilbert and Kaa Dekker dominated the snowboarding events at the Special Olympics National Winter Games in Wānaka last week.

Gilbert, of Te Awamutu, won two gold medals, one in the giant slalom and the other in the snowboard cross division. Both races turned into a real Waikato battle, as Gilbert’s main competition came from Hamiltonian Kaa Dekker.

The Special Olympics National Winter Games, held since 1992, are a four-yearly pinnacle event for athletes with an intellectual disability competing in skiing and snowboarding events.

Special Olympics chief executive Fran Scholey said the National Winter Games were an overwhelming success this year with the weather playing its part and all races completed in the first three days.

In the giant slalom event, Gilbert was just over five seconds clear of Dekker across two runs, but in the cross races the difference was a mere two seconds across two runs.

The bronze medals in the giant slalom and snowboard cross events went to Cosmo Adams from North Harbour.

Gilbert and Dekker know each other well, so the medal ceremony was livened up with some friendly banter between the two.

Gilbert already won gold and bronze medals in snowboarding at the World Winter Games in Austria six years ago and was one of five Special Olympics athlete leaders at the National Special Olympics Summer Games 2022 where he competed as a swimmer.

At this year’s national Winter Games, 44 athletes, nine snowboarders and 35 skiers, from 18 clubs competed across five disciplines: advanced and intermediate slalom, giant slalom, snowboard cross and snowboard giant slalom.

The athletes competing in Wānaka have now put their hands up selected for the next Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin in 2025.

Scholey said: “The World Winter Games in Italy will be the first global event since the games in Austria in 2017 ... [as] the 2021 World Winter Games in Kazan first had to be postponed due to the pandemic and then moved to Italy after Russia invaded Ukraine.”