A SPECIAL OLYMPIAN'S JOURNEY TO GREATNESS

BY OLIVIA BATCHELOR, OTS

In the small town of Russellville, KY, Lee Dockins is a local celebrity. The 31-year-old with Down syndrome has far surpassed everyone's expectations for her life and continues to strive for greatness. With 222 medals and 4 first-place ribbons from the Special Olympics, this gymnast has made her hometown proud. Recently, though, Lee's successes have also been noted on a national stage, as she was one of four athletes chosen to represent the Special Olympics at their 50th Anniversary exhibit in Washington D.C.. When asked about her journey, Lee was speechless, affirming that the entire experience has been simply unbelievable.

According to her mother, Sharon, Lee was destined to be a gymnast. When she was still an infant, Sharon walked into Lee's room to check on her only to find her sound asleep in the splits position. By the time she was five, the family decided to enroll her in Logan County Gymnastics, a brand-new gym in their hometown. Owners Donnie and Polly Porter worked with Lee for many years and continue to train her to this day. "Skill by skill, I learned," she reflected fondly. At 31, Lee is the longest standing member of the gym.

Lee's journey with Special Olympics began at age eight when her teacher, Mrs. Karen Milliken, encouraged her to compete at the area games in Bowling Green, KY. Mrs. Milliken stayed involved in Lee's career long after she left her classroom, joining the family at their first USA games in Ames, Iowa and even accompanying them to China for Lee's first world competition. According to her mother, it is these individuals that have made all the difference in her daughter's life. "Lee epitomizes the idea that it takes a village to raise a child," she shared, "She really is an example of that with teachers, family, church, coaches… Everybody's helped to raise Lee."

With so many supporters over the years, Lee's success has been remarkable. She has competed multiple times on the national stage and has travelled to the world games in China, Greece, and Los Angeles, even having the opportunity to participate in a rhythmic gymnastics exhibition event in Switzerland called Gymnaestrada. Snippets of Lee's journey have been highlighted in Sports Illustrated magazine and in segments on ESPN. This summer in Seattle, Lee earned her first Best All Around gold medal and was eager to show it off. "It's just unbelievable," she said of the whole experience, "I can't believe how cool it is!"

At this point, Lee competes at Level 3 (of 4 total levels) in both artistic and rhythmic gymnastics. Within the Special Olympics, competitive levels are determined by skill level, with more difficult skills being expected as the levels increase. As a Level 3 gymnast, Lee is expected to be able to cartwheel dismount off the beam and complete a handstand vault. However great these stellar accomplishments are, they are not the end goal for our celebrated gymnast. When asked about the future, Lee voiced her desire to compete as a Level 4 gymnast. On practicing these new skills, she had this to say: "It's a little harder, but I'm still doing it because I love it. It's scary, but I'm cool with it," to which her mother replied, "Oh, you're not scared of anything; you're fearless." In light of all her successes over the years, it is difficult to disagree.

Over the years, gymnastics has become more than just a sport for Lee. In recent years, she has taken on a role as assistant coach at Logan County Gymnastics. For five years, she has been helping the three- to four-year old class, and she is now transitioning to a role where she will begin helping older gymnasts with rhythmic skills. In addition to this, she also participates in the ambassador and global messenger programs through the state office of Kentucky Special Olympics. In this role, she learns about many of the social aspects of athletics such as giving speeches and meeting new peo ple. According to Sharon, seeing Lee grow into these roles has truly given her competition purpose.

When asked about their favorite memories over the years Sharon noted that, on top of her list, it would be the experience of working with curators at the Smithsonian museum put together Lee's portion of the exhibit. For the next year, the museum will display the leotard that Lee wore while competing in China and the hand grips that she used at the Greece games. Once the display is taken down, Lee's memorabilia will be kept in the vault alongside those of Olympic greats.

As for Lee's favorite memories, she says meeting Olympic speed skater Apollo Ohno on two separate occasions has been a highlight of her experience. The pair met first at the World Games in Los Angeles in 2015 and were reunited after Lee's knee buckled during competition at the USA Games this summer in Seattle. "He cheered me up," Lee shared, "I put the ice on my knee and he said, 'Good job, Lee. I'm very proud of you.'"

In terms of advice for anyone who is considering participating in Special Olympics, Sharon Dockins had this to say to parents: "Anytime you can get your child involved athletically, it helps them. It obviously helps them physically, but it also helps them socially… Get behind them, support them, and do whatever it takes."

Sharon also affirmed the added benefits that gymnastics has given Lee in terms of muscle tone, strength, coordination, and grace. Lee herself had similar advice for future athletes, discussing the many skills she has learned over the years and repeating Special Olympics' Oath as her personal motto: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."

Both mother and daughter commended the Special Olympics platform for promoting the idea of inclusion to the general public. This year's slogan rings out as a personal challenge from Lee and Sharon to us all: "Rise with Us."•

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Olivia Batchelor, OTS is a Graduate Assistant at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.

MORE UPS THAN DOWNS: (Left) Lee took the all-around gold in her artistic gymnastics division at the Seattle games; (Right) Lee is featured prominently among five stars of Special Olympics' first half-century at the Smithsonian Institute.