Athletes with intellectual disabilities from 6 countries, including Israel, participated in the SPRINT Triathlon in Šamorín and part of this event was the historically first European Special Olympics Triathlon Championships.
Israeli representative, Ron Beck took the Gold medal for his age group last weekend.
The 15-year-old Haifa native, Ron is the youngest participant in the triathlon and is diagnosed with high-functioning autism (Asperger Syndrome), went out with the Israeli delegation to the competition and finished in first place overall at the end of the sprint.
"The absolute best performance among the athletes with intellectual disabilities was achieved by Ron Beck from Israel with a time of 1:18:11," the Special Olympics Slovakia website stated.
Special Olympics
More than 190 countries participated in the Special Olympics, among the participating countries were Finland, Estonia Slovakia Italy and Monaco.
The organizers of the competition invited the "Special Olympics" athletes to join the elite athletes, who competed in the European Triathlon Championships, in Olympic and half-ironman allotments.
The Israeli athletes competed in the sprint competition which included: 750 meters of swimming, 20 km of cycling and 5 km of running.
"Congratulations to Ron on an amazing achievement. Beyond his high physical abilities, Ron has also shown along the way much self-discipline, mental resilience and motivation, said the director of the Haifa Municipality Sports Authority, Nir Shaul, "I wish Ron much success in year's Olympic Games in Berlin as well."