Fox Island athlete heads to nationals

Special Olympian qualifies after she wins gold at state meet

Marques Hunter

of the Gateway

For most of Jaeminah Speicher’s life, people have told her she isn’t capable of doing certain things. Now, she’s excited about the opportunity to compete in sports as a member of the Gig Harbor Special Olympics program.

Speicher, a 24-year-old with a friendly smile, suffered a brain hemorrhage at birth. Doctors told her she wouldn’t be able to walk, much less be an athlete.

But with help from the University of Puget Sound’s School of Occupational Therapy, Speicher recovered from Cerebral Palsy enough to become a talented swimmer.

Speicher qualified for the 2010 Special Olympics Nationals games in Lincoln, Neb., after she won the 25-meter backstroke during the state championships at the King County Aquatic Center in Federal Way. She and 27 others will represent Washington state from July 18-23.

“I’ve never been to Nebraska,” Speicher said. “I’ve never been on a plane before.”

Speicher is so excited to compete that she sometimes has trouble relaxing. Her mother, Priscilla, and head coach, Sandy Hall, know she must remain calm in order to execute proper technique in the water.

Speicher was quadriplegic as a baby and had little movement as she grew up, but she’s come a long way.

“I like showing people I can do something,” Speicher said. “Now, I can actually compete.”

The Games will host 13 Olympic-style sports, from soccer and bowling, to aquatics and track and field. For the first time, it will also host flag football.

There will be more than 3,000 athletes at the event, assisted by 1,000 coaches, and 8,000 volunteers. More than 30,000 fans are expected to attend.

Since Speicher joined the Gig Harbor Special Olympics program in 2007, she has become a candidate for a Special Olympics Ambassador. A winner will be announced at the upcoming games.

“I’m very happy,” she said about heading to nationals. “It’s just about having fun, no matter win or lose.”

Hall, who has been the Peninsula Killer Whales Special Olympics coach for 21 years, said when Speicher first began, she swam in a zigzag pattern because one arm was much stronger than the other.

But after she balanced her strength, her arms now extend farther in reaches during the backstroke, and she swims in a straight line.

“She (Speicher) doesn’t miss a practice unless she has to,” Hall said. “She loves the Special Olympics program, and that’s why she wants to be an ambassador.”