In June Elizabeth Klein of Fort Hunt traded her graduation cap for a swim cap. Instead of walking across the stage and receiving her high school diploma, Elizabeth chose to attend the 2014 USA Special Olympic Games and swim for gold. More than 3,500 Special Olympics athletes from throughout the United States traveled to New Jersey June 14-21 to compete in the 2014 USA Special Olympic Games. Elizabeth was one of eight swimmers representing Virginia. She won gold in the 100 backstroke and placed 6th in the 100 freestyle. Her relays (4x25 free and 4x50 free) captured bronze.
Elizabeth, who started swimming at age 8, not only swims for Special Olympics, she also swam for the Edison Eagles and is a member of the Riverside Gardens Tsunami Team. She will be attending the Pulley Vocational Training Center in the fall.