Olympic gold medalist and former gymnast Kerry Strugg took Dominion High School’s stage Friday night to honor an auditorium full of special athletes.
Strugg was the 2007 Special Olympics Virginia Winter Games speaker. She welcomed athletes from all across the state.
"Life is short, make the most of it," she said.
Booz Allen Hamilton, a technology consulting firm and 2007 sponsor of the Special Olympics Virginia Winter Games, and Dominion High School students decorated the school’s halls with black and gold balloons. Dominion's cheerleaders waved pom-poms and the school’s drumline welcomed figure skaters, speed skaters and bowlers to the opening ceremonies.
Kelly Bradshaw will compete in this year’s figure skating competition. She has cerebral palsy.
"Because of Special Olympics I can skate," she said. "When I skate I feel as though I can fly. When I skate I do not feel my disability. I am free from my disability. I am free."