Special Olympics Health Messengers Inspiring Their Communities to Stay Active on World …
Urimondjira Ruzo, a Special Olympics Namibia athlete leads an outdoor community fitness activity. World Day for Physical Activity is celebrated globally on 6 April each year, emphasizing the importance of staying active through sport and physical fitness daily. Physical fitness is a key aspect of Special Olympics’ mission. Special Olympics encourages athletes and their communities […]
Urimondjira Ruzo, a Special Olympics Namibia athlete leads an outdoor community fitness activity.
World Day for Physical Activity is celebrated globally on 6 April each year, emphasizing the importance of staying active through sport and physical fitness daily. Physical fitness is a key aspect of Special Olympics’ mission. Special Olympics encourages athletes and their communities to engage in year-round fitness activities to promote optimal health and sports performance.
Data collected from a 2018 Special Olympics athlete satisfaction survey showed 58% of Special Olympics athletes said they joined Special Olympics “to stay fit and healthy.” Staying active not only enhances sport performance but prevents and manages non-communicable diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes, reduces symptoms of depression and anxiety, and improves overall well-being.
One way Special Olympics promotes healthy lifestyles is through the work of Health Messengers. Health Messengers are Special Olympics athletes who are trained to serve as health and wellness leaders in their communities by leading education and fitness activities and empowering athletes to advocate for the health needs of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Since 2016, over 5,000 athletes have been trained to serve as leaders and advocates in their communities.
This World Day for Physical Activity, Special Olympics is highlighting four Health Messengers for their leadership in inspiring athletes and community members to stay active year-round.
Below, meet four Health Messengers who are getting their communities moving.
José Miguel Ramírez González – Special Olympics Colombia
José Miguel Ramírez González, a Special Olympics Colombia athlete teaches swim drills and leads a practice.
Health Messenger José Miguel Ramírez González is a dedicated swimmer and a leader in his community. José believes in the power of fitness and always encourages athletes to push themselves. He has a natural ability to inspire those around him, leading by example and showing how committing to a healthy lifestyle makes lasting impacts.
José understands that staying motivated is key to inspiring others and shares, “we motivate ourselves every day to improve our physical activity goals. For example, if I ran 5 kilometers yesterday, my goal for the next day is to increase the distance I ran. This will certainly have a beneficial effect on our health and well-being.”
Understanding that physical fitness can benefit one’s overall well-being, Jose adds, “being physically active makes me feel happy and healthy. It improves my mood, increases my confidence and self-esteem, and makes me feel comfortable with my physical appearance. Staying physically active improves my muscle strength and helps me increase my endurance in the pool.”
José’s influence extends beyond the pool with his positive mindset and dedication to building healthy lifestyles in his community.
Joe MacNamara, a Special Olympics Ireland athlete (right), educates his teammates about nutrition.
Joe MacNamara – Special Olympics Ireland
Health Messenger Joe MacNamara has made it his goal to educate athletes and community members about nutrition and fitness. Joe shares his knowledge of food groups and portion sizes to help athletes stay fit and strong. In addition to his passion of teaching others, Joe is equally dedicated to promoting year-round physical activity in his community. Recently, Joe led a four-month weekly fitness program for his swimming teammates, encouraging them to stay active outside of the pool.
Joe emphasizes that staying active is beneficial for everyone, encouraging not only his teammates to stay active but also families and other community members. He shares, “it is good to take fresh air and walking is good for health and well-being and staying fit. If you do a walk with Team South Galway, you can bring your dog as well. It is good for family members in the local community to walk for their health and being active is good for your physical and mental well-being.”
Highlighting that physical fitness benefits more than just sports performance, Joe explains, “physical activity can help change the chemicals in our brain which can result in a positive mood change. There is some evidence to suggest that exercise can bring about a sense of greater self-esteem, self-control and the ability to rise to a challenge.”
To Joe, fitness means improving your overall well-being, both physically and mentally. Joe plans to continue leading the exercise program in the future.
Urimondjira Ruzo – Special Olympics Namibia
Urimondjira Ruzo prepares and organizes a community physical fitness drill.
A Health Messenger, Sport Assistant Coach, Fitness Captain, and a Youth Leader, Urimondjira Ruzo is a community-driven individual. He is a dual-sport athlete, playing floorball and soccer, and leads fitness sessions in his community. Urimondjira is always looking for ways to make a positive impact. As a Special Olympics athlete, he knows sports and fitness have a unique way of connecting people.
Urimondjira reflected on the social aspect of physical fitness sharing, “physical activity keeps me healthy and makes me make friends.” As an athlete, he understands first-hand how being part of a community not only connects people but promotes overall well-being.
Understanding the positive impact sports and fitness provide, Urimondjira shares, “my hope for others on this World Day for Physical Activity is for more people to start moving and stay active and try to enjoy it.”
Special Olympics Puerto Rico athlete, Armando Renta instructs swimmers during a fitness activity.
Armando Renta – Special Olympics Puerto Rico
Armando Renta, a Health Messenger and Athlete Leader is an experienced swimmer and inspirational leader. He is an assistant coach for his local swimming program, Breaking Barriers of the Municipality of Ponce, and is responsible for teaching children and young adults swimming and fitness skills.
Armando understands the impact fitness can have both in and outside of the pool. He reflected on the importance of motivating each other to stay active, sharing, “I like to encourage and motivate these children and young people to do physical activities because it is vital to maintain good health.”
To Armando, it’s important to encourage others to take charge of their own health, adding, “physical activity is important for everyone. For my athletes in the Breaking Barriers program, swimming is a very appealing activity. It is a well-rounded sport. They find it fun, and at the same time, I manage to help them live a healthier and more productive life through physical activity.”
By working with community members and athletes, Armando is motivating athletes and community members to live healthier lives through his love of swimming.
Health Messengers remind us of the importance of staying consistent and staying active year-round, and how this can promote overall well-being among athletes, families, and community members.
Special Olympics and the American Council on Exercise launched a free, six module online course designed for people both with and without IDD. The course features real-world examples, including Special Olympics athletes, interactive learning modules, and post-course resources to help individuals gain confidence and skills to inspire communities to be more active, just like these four Health Messengers. Take the free course to become a Community Physical Activity Leader and inspire communities to stay active.
Sarah Franklin shined as USA struggled in first week of Volleyball Nations League
USA Volleyball had a tough first week of Volleyball Nations League play, losing its first three matches to Italy, Brazil and Czechia. It wasn’t due to a lack of effort from former Wisconsin Badgers star Sarah Franklin. The outside hitter was the team’s most consistent scorer of the week, leading the USA team with 41 […]
That 10.25 average per match so far puts her in the Top 25 among all players in the VNL. Her next closes teammate averages just seven.
Franklin’s efforts helped finally put her team over the top in their fourth match against South Korea.
USA won in three sets thanks to her 13 points, four digs and one ace.
Entering the second week of play, she’ll get some reinforcements from another former Badger joining the squad.
Dana Rettke made it onto the USA roster for Week 2, adding some more size into the middle to try and elavate the team.
She helped lead Wisconsin to a national championship in 2021, though she didn’t cross over with Franklin at the same time in Madison.
Now, they’ll share the court as they play for their country overseas.
Dana is back!
The 2024 Olympian makes her return to the U.S. Women’s National Team for week 2 of Volleyball Nations League. Also making their 2025 debuts this week in Serbia are libero Lexi Rodriguez and middle Brionne Butler.
Canadian men bounce Bulgaria 3-0 in Volleyball Nations League action
QUÉBEC — Canada’s senior men’s volleyball team bounced back from Saturday’s tough five-set loss to France to beat Bulgaria 3-0 in their best-of-five Volleyball Nations League match on Sunday. QUÉBEC — Canada’s senior men’s volleyball team bounced back from Saturday’s tough five-set loss to France to beat Bulgaria 3-0 in their best-of-five Volleyball Nations League […]
QUÉBEC — Canada’s senior men’s volleyball team bounced back from Saturday’s tough five-set loss to France to beat Bulgaria 3-0 in their best-of-five Volleyball Nations League match on Sunday.
QUÉBEC — Canada’s senior men’s volleyball team bounced back from Saturday’s tough five-set loss to France to beat Bulgaria 3-0 in their best-of-five Volleyball Nations League match on Sunday.
Canada bounced Bulgaria 26-24, 25-23 and 25-19 to record their second match victory in Pool 1 play. Canada is in sixth place in the 18-team standings with seven points, tied with Ukraine. Bulgaria is 10th with five points.
Outside hitter Brodie Hofer led all Canadian scorers with 21 points. Canadian Daenan Gyimah led all defenders with 11 blocks, while Ryan Joseph Sclater and Hofer had nine each.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 15, 2025.
Pickleball courts, sand volleyball and new hotels bringing in sports tourism to Foley
Foley officials are making special efforts to bring in more sports tourism. A new hotel is adding to what the city has already done. The Foley Cobblestone Hotel will add 73 rooms to the growing tourist area. Foley city administrator Mike Thompson said the plan is to bring in more visitors. “This particular project is […]
Foley officials are making special efforts to bring in more sports tourism. A new hotel is adding to what the city has already done.
The Foley Cobblestone Hotel will add 73 rooms to the growing tourist area. Foley city administrator Mike Thompson said the plan is to bring in more visitors.
“This particular project is very important to the city,” Thompson said. “We have a large sports tourism facility just to the north of here, and having another hotel that literally is walking distance to our event center, it really makes a difference in us retaining some of the lodging that we want to get from our Sports Tourism facilities.”
The city also built pickleball courts and sand volleyball courts that can be used by locals and for sports tournaments.
Jeremy Griesbach, president of development for Cobblestone Hotels, said the Foley hotel is Cobblestone’s second in Alabama. The company has been in talks with Foley since 2019.
“A lot of important people helped get this thing across the finish line,” Griesbach said. “Thanks to the mayor, Mike Thompson, everybody at the city of Foley, all the inspection teams, the planning commission, people over at Riviera Utilities. Everyone has been so helpful and made this a great project.”
A third Cobblestone Hotel is being built in Bay Minette.
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Competing against the best of the best in collegiate high jumping, Murray State’s DiamonAsia Taylor won All-America Second Team honors Saturday at the NCAA Finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Making her first two attempts at 1.79m, Taylor didn’t have a miss until she got to the 1.84m height, which would’ve tied the Murray State […]
Competing against the best of the best in collegiate high jumping, Murray State’s DiamonAsia Taylor won All-America Second Team honors Saturday at the NCAA Finals at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.
Making her first two attempts at 1.79m, Taylor didn’t have a miss until she got to the 1.84m height, which would’ve tied the Murray State record by Meaghan Fletcher in 2024. Taylor’s final try of three was very close to tying the mark, but for a slight graze of the bar.
“We are really proud of Asia,” said Coach Kelsey Riggins. “She competed like a seasoned athlete today in the most competitive high jump field in NCAA, that had three Olympians from Paris 2024 games. Asia represented our program and Racer Athletics well and has such a bright future. We’re all looking forward to watching her grow with the Racers!”
Taylor’s All-America finish makes it four-straight years in which the Racers have sent five student-athletes to the NCAA Finals. Among the 74 schools nationally that have also produced four-consecutive years, the Racers are in a group of only 20 mid-major programs that have done so. Only 21 percent of NCAA DI schools made it to the NCAA Finals four times in a row and only seven percent were mid-major teams.
High School Sports | USA TODAY Sports CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Having defeated its East Robertson opponents last season, Clarksville Academy reunited with the Lady Indians for their first District 10-A matchup this year. East Robertson, though, came into Tuesday’s match with an undefeated district record and the Lady Cougars (9-5, 7-4) couldn’t give the Lady […]
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Having defeated its East Robertson opponents last season, Clarksville Academy reunited with the Lady Indians for their first District 10-A matchup this year.
East Robertson, though, came into Tuesday’s match with an undefeated district record and the Lady Cougars (9-5, 7-4) couldn’t give the Lady Indians (19-9, 8-0) their first loss.
East Robertson came away with a 25-16, 25-16, 25-22 victory at Clarksville Academy.
“We definitely had serving errors tonight,” Clarksville Academy coach Lori Tooley said. “Our communication wasn’t there, so we had balls drop in the gaps. When we get our passes down, we have some strong hitters. We are a good hitting team. We have to have our passes down before we can get our hits.”
The Lady Cougars lost five seniors to graduation and came out with a new lineup of players.
The Lady Cougars worked hard to avoid the sweep in the third set. They took a five-point lead before the Lady Indians tied the score 15-15. The squads stayed tied for a while before the Lady Indians came away with a three-point margin to win the match.
“I think we played well and that we could have beaten them,” Clarksville Academy’s Sedona Tooley said. “We beat them in the past, but we could beat them in the district tournament. They’re fun to play. It’s a challenge, but it’s a lot of fun to meet that challenge.”
“We are pleased with our game today,” Hope Askew said. “I thought we talked well. We passed well. We served well. I think that our attitude this year is so much better, and I do believe that we could beat them because we beat them in the past. I’m proud of my team.”
Despite losing their fourth district game of the season, Tooley and Askew both said they believe they can take the district during the tournament, and that they’re a much improved team from years past.
“This year we can get ourselves up instead of go down emotionally rather than we did in the past,” Tooley said.
“We had other players get down, but this team that we’re on we’re so much better emotionally, so we can pump ourselves back up again.”
Said Askew, “Our attitude last year and the year in the past has been a roller coaster emotionally, but this year if we get down we get right back up. We try to stay on top instead of sinking down again. Our attitude is much better.”
‘She swam beautifully,’ says proud dad after Albury’s 16-year-old Sienna Toohey powers to world titles berth
Albury swim star Sienna Toohey after her win in the women’s 100 metres breaststroke at the national selection trials in Adelaide on 10 June, securing her place at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore next month. Photo: NSWIS. The father of Albury swimming sensation Sienna Toohey has described his daughter as a “champion kid” – […]
Albury swim star Sienna Toohey after her win in the women’s 100 metres breaststroke at the national selection trials in Adelaide on 10 June, securing her place at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore next month. Photo: NSWIS.
The father of Albury swimming sensation Sienna Toohey has described his daughter as a “champion kid” – in and out of the pool – after her stunning win at the Australian selection trials in Adelaide on 10 June.
The 16-year-old claimed the women’s 100m breaststroke with a personal-best time of 1:06.55, securing her spot at the world titles in Singapore next month (27 July to 3 August).
Paris 2024 Olympian Ella Ramsey entered the event as the favourite but was pipped at the post by the Albury Swim Club member.
“She swam beautifully,” said proud dad Damian Toohey, who is the principal at Albury High School.
“She was in good form going in [to the trials], she’s put in a lot of hard work and it’s taken a big commitment – but it’s paid dividends.
“It’s been a great couple of days for her and she got very emotional after that race because it’s just such a massive goal to swim for Australia. When you reach that, it’s almost overwhelming.”
Mr Toohey said Sienna had spent the past six weeks travelling back and forth to Canberra with her mum, Simone, for more intensive training at the AIS’s ACT Performance Hub with head coach Shannon Rollason.
The pair would leave on a Sunday night and return Thursday, in time for Sienna to hand in school work and assignments and reconnect with her family and friends for the weekend, he said.
But it’s been the support of long-term Albury Swim Club coach Wayne Gould, 71, miles upon miles of laps in the local pool, surrounded by an incredible swim “family”, that has helped hone this young superstar’s skills, according to Mr Toohey.
He recalls the early days when the family would head off to the Albury pool on a Friday night with Sienna and her brothers Archie, now 18, and Jed, now 13, in tow.
All keen swimmers, the kids went down the “well-trodden path” from Gould Swim Academy to the Albury Swim Club where Sienna would eventually land with accomplished breaststroke coach Jo Gibbs at the age of nine … and the stage was set.
“Jo always said, ‘Don’t push them too hard too early’,” Mr Toohey recalled.
“We could turn her into an out-and-out champion right now but …
“So Sienna was doing PSSA [Primary Schools Sports Association] events and training three or four times a week – she wasn’t flogged but just developed technique and she loved her swimming.”
Sienna was already winning medals for swimming at state level but at the same time she was also proving a highly talented water polo player, under the tutelage of none other than Wayne’s daughter Kristy, Mr Toohey said.
She played for Albury team Pool Pirates and two years ago made the Australian Under-15 water polo squad.
But there came a time when the “big decision” had to be made, he added.
Sienna came to the attention of former Australian Olympic head swimming coach Leigh Nugent, who worked with Wayne and Sienna and encouraged her at 13 “to have a crack” towards realising her potential.
It’s been an incredible journey of dedication, discipline and determination ever since.
In an interview with the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) after her incredible achievement, Sienna said she was “very happy” with herself.
“I really wanted to make the national team, and I knew that if I didn’t make it in the 100m, I always had the 50m tomorrow,” she said. “But I’m definitely happy that I’ve done it now.”
Sienna has now sealed her place in the Dolphins squad that will compete at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore.
Her parents revealed they had not quite been prepared for this imminent overseas trip but their daughter was no stranger to international competition, having competed in Japan last year.
“She’s had unbelievable experiences and she has great people around her,” Mr Toohey said.
“There are a lot of people involved in getting Sienna to where she is, and the building blocks Swimming Australia have put in have provided incredible opportunities to get racing experience that build to winning a national-level race.”
Mr Toohey said there was no doubting the calibre of swimmers in the Albury-Wodonga and wider region.
“We are punching above our weight and the swim clubs do a great job,” he said.
“We love our sport on the Border and there are a lot of people putting in a lot of time and effort into training and supporting our kids.
“Sienna is very proud of coming from Albury and it’s a big thing to represent our community.”
For Sienna, it’s been a huge dream to be on the pool deck competing alongside role models she has idolised for many years, according to Mr Toohey.
She had been met with kindness from swimmers who had proven role models both in and out of the pool – “and every part of her said, ‘I want to be part of that’,” he said.
Describing his daughter as a “calm, loving kid who adores her brothers”, Mr Toohey revealed Sienna didn’t mind her downtime at home on the couch.
With a super-close circle of friends at Albury High, she was the type of person who was just as happy cheering on the success of others as she was striving for her own, he said.
But in the pool, this young girl now being hailed as the “future of Australian swimming” is a tenacious competitor.
“Leigh [Nugent] said she swims fearlessly – and I think that says it all,” Mr Toohey said.
