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Houston Athlete Prepares for World Winter GamesTeam USA-Texas heads to Colorado for Olympic Training December3-8 For Immediate Release: November 18, 2008 In two months, 42 year-old Marissa Castillon of Houston will make a trip to Idaho for the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games. But first … she is heading to Copper Mountain, Colorado, for a five-day training camp December 3-8. Castillon has dedicated 32 years to ice skating, and her hard work shows when she hits the ice. Castillon has advanced to level four in figure skating, an accomplishment of which she is very proud. In 2001, she competed in the World Winter Games in Alaska, where she earned a bronze medal in figure skating. She says, "It has made me more confident, self sufficient; it helps me in my job to be more of a team player and through exercise, it has kept me in good shape." She is excited to represent Texas and compete with athletes from around the world. Castillon was named Athlete of the Year for the Greater Houston area and the state in 2003 and her family was named Family of the Year for the Greater Houston area and the state in 2001. She is also part of the Athlete Leadership Program. Outside of Special Olympics, Castillon works at Randall's grocery store in the bakery department, a job she has had for 19 years. She enjoys photography, video games and collecting DVDs. Other athletes representing Team USA-Texas are: Justin Horton, 31 Kristen Lyons, 33 Leanne Owens, 36 For Team USA, consisting of 355 athletes and 85 coaches, plus management team members, this training camp is the first official time many of the athletes will meet their World Games coach and other athletes from all over the nation who will be joining them on their trip to World Games. The camp will offer a variety of coaches meetings and sport-specific training in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, floor hockey, figure skating, snowboarding, snowshoe racing and speed skating. Athletes and coaches will participate in team building activities. Featured events for the camp include an Idaho Night, featuring information about the Games' host state. The training camp will be capped off Saturday evening with a dinner and recap of the events of training camp. Also during camp, athletes from Team USA will be fitted for their uniforms and have sport-specific photos taken. This is the 9th Special Olympics World Winter Games, uniting nearly 3,000 athletes from 100 countries for competition Feb. 7-13, 2009. Special thanks go to Bank of America, Sage Hospitality, American Federation of Teachers, North American Police Ski Championships, Columbia Sportswear and Gear for Sports as sponsors and Toko as product supplier of Team USA. For more information on Team USA, visit www.specialolympicsteamusa.org or find additional World Games information at http://www.2009worldgames.org/ SOTX Official Partners:
Andi Baca Kelly |
Created by the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr. Foundation. Authorized and Accredited by Special Olympics, Inc.,
for the Benefit of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities. |
