Clatsop County Special Olympics keeps rolling

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There’s no stopping the Clatsop County Special Olympic athletes. Brittney Clarke and Jacob McCarr competed in three different events at the 2026 USA Games in Minneapolis. Clarke won gold in the 400-meter walk and also medaled in the 4 x 100-meter relay and mini javelin. McCarr placed fifth in the shot put, was a member of the second-place co-ed 4 x 100 relay team and competed in the 100-yard dash. After Clarke and McCarr brought home medals, Clarke and the rest of the athletes in Clatsop County Special Olympics are set to go on the road and compete this weekend.

The 2026 Oregon Summer Games are slated for July 10 through the 12, and are slated to take place at Oregon State University in Corvallis. Twenty Clatsop County Special Olympics athletes are set to compete in two sports: track and field and bocce ball.

Clarke will lead a list of 12 total track and field athletes. She will be joined by Alex Cary, Joey Bailey, Nicholas Bailey, Blake Chick, Mathias Costello, Marie Kajula, Jack Kain, Jonathan Lempea, Beau Routh, Cheyenne Valunzuela, Megan Wilson and coaches Bill and Karen Lempea. There will also be seven community members going as volunteers, including: Phil and Julie Chick, Michael and Danielle Cary, Clatsop County Special Olympics Program Director David McAloney, Susan Hiebert and Tracie Hunter.

Bocce is one of the newer sports added to the Special Olympics calendar this year and Clatsop County has a total of eight athletes participating this weekend: Brandi Higgins, Angelica Lizarraga, Ben Johnson, David Killion, Jesse Banks, Jerry Allen, Jackie Bleech and Nikki Fletcher. Coaches Patty Kain and Brenda Higgins will also travel with the athletes.

The Italian based game has slowly been gaining popularity in America after getting its start in Italy and other European countries. The lawn game is similar to bowling where teams roll large balls to try and get them as close as possible to a smaller target called a pallino. It can be played on either grass, sand or a dedicated hardcourt. Italian General Giuseppe Garibaldi popularized the game in Italy during the late 19th century and it has since become an Olympic sport.

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