People all over the world received a glimpse at what the Heart of Virginia is capable of in the realm of athletics thanks to medal-winning performances by Marquay Trent and Moira Schwerdtfeger at the recent 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle, Washington.

The pair of athletes were competing in their first national-level games as representatives of Special Olympics Virginia Area 12, and they were accompanied by Johann Greer, who is area coordinator for Area 12.

“It was a great experience for everyone,” she said.

Greer reported that Trent, who hails from Cumberland, brought home three silver medals.

On July 2, he advanced to the finals in the high performance 100-meter dash, Greer noted. On July 3, he came in second, missing the gold by 0.14 of a second.

“He also pulled a muscle in his quad at the end of the race,” Greer said. “After some rest and ice, he competed the next day and got silver in the mini javelin.”

His final race was July 6 and earned silver. Greer highlighted that it was only 0.17 seconds separating his time and that of the winner.

“Marquay made everyone proud and was very excited for C.J. Massenburg, from Maryland, whom he lost to in his 100M and 200M races,” Greer said.

Schwerdtfeger, of Prospect, competed in bocce both as an individual and on a team. She won silver as an individual and bronze in team play, Greer cited.

“The team won bronze in a sudden death match,” Greer said. “She made lots of friends and other players, coaches and spectators loved her bubbly personality.   She cried tears of joy after each event — win or lose — because of how proud she was of how everyone played.”

Greer added that “from the Opening Ceremonies and seeing Taye Diggs and Marshmello up close, seeing Charlie Puth perform, attending a Seattle Mariners game and visiting the Space Needle, it was an amazing — and exhausting — week that we all would like to do again.”