Three P.E.I. athletes represent Canada at the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games

Raphael Caron · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 11, 2025 10:53 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

Three Prince Edward Islanders are among the 90 Canadian athletes astatine the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games successful Turin, Italy.

This is the 12th variation of the Games, which started connected March 8 and past until March 15.

"This is the highest level of contention for Special Olympics," said Charity Sheehan, Canada's caput of delegation.

"They get to vie against the champion successful the satellite and they're acceptable to bash that."

Ellen MacNearney and Tommy Ling are some competing successful nordic skiing, portion Callum McEwan is successful fig skating.

Athletes from 102 countries from astir the satellite gathered astatine the opening ceremonial — a portion MacNearney really enjoyed successful the Special Olympics.

"The opening ceremonial was awesome," she said, adding the champion parts for her were erstwhile the snowfall was coming down successful the stadium and erstwhile the athletes came in.

MacNearney, who lives in Brudenell, has won dozens of medals successful some swimming and skiing. She past competed astatine the Special Olympics World Games successful 2013 successful PyeongChang, South Korea, wherever she won a golden and a bronze medal.

Twelve years later, she is attending these games with a antithetic mindset.

"It makes a large quality due to the fact that I was conscionable Grade 12, conscionable graduating from precocious school." she said. "And present I'm 30 years old."

MacNearney is competing in the 7.5-km finals connected Thursday, followed by the 5-km finals connected Friday.

For her, the champion portion of the acquisition isn't conscionable the contention but besides having her household determination to cheer her on.

More than medals

While galore athletes are seeking to adhd connected to Canada's medal count, that isn't the lone goal.

"Some privation to person idiosyncratic bests, acquisition each [that] these satellite games person to offer." Sheehan said.

"Others person that extremity of having that gold, metallic oregon bronze medal for sure, truthful everybody is going to permission it each connected the snowfall and ice."

Tommy Ling has been a Special Olympics jock for 14 years. Similarly to MacNearney, he's participated successful some wintertime and summertime events, including bocce.

Meanwhile, this marks Callum McEwan's first-ever Special Olympics World Games.