Once again, the Goochland Special Olympic athletes had outstanding performances at the 2026 Summer Games.
The University of Richmond hosted the track and field events while the bowling championships were held at Bowlero in Mechanicsville. After two days of competition our athletes took to the dance floor at Robins Stadium and showed off their talents, socialized with athletes from other areas and watched movies. The athletes, partners and coaches stayed on campus at Richmond throughout the weekend. Over 1,000 Special Olympic athletes competed in track and field, bowling, tennis, softball and swimming in venues throughout the city.
In addition to our Special Olympic athletes, we had four ‘partner’ athletes competing as well. Our bowling athletes brought home gold and silver medals to Goochland. Jarrett Brennan and Dyllan Steadman won a gold and silver medal respectively in their divisions. Both bowlers did their best as they had high score games in the 100s.
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The track and field team competed strong as well. Seb Saxon won the 50M Run in the men’s division, bringing home the gold medal and having a first-place finish in the softball throw as well. Eric Cox won the silver medal in the men’s 100M Run, and he finished fifth in the 200M Run. Ryland Julian won gold medals in the Men’s 100 and 200 for his respective divisions. Dymontrie Hopkins won gold medals in the same events for his respective divisions.
On the ladies side of the competition, Rachelle Hope won gold medals in the long jump and the 100M Women’s run for her divisions while Jayda Hope and Destiny Brent each won three gold medals. Jayda won gold in the Mini-Jav and 100M races while Destiny competed in the shot put and 100M dash. It was the first time that Jayda had competed in the Mini-Jav event, while it was Destiny's first competition in the shot put.
The Ladies Unified Track team of Destiny Brent, Jayda Hope, Ava Freeman and Ailey Black won a first-place medal for their efforts in the 4x100M relay. The men’s team of Ryland Julian, Dymontrie Hopkins, Sam Farkas and Jack Stern also competed in the Unified Track 4x100 Relay team, and they took home the gold as well.
Our Unified Partners also competed in the following events: Ava Freeman (long jump gold medalist), Sam Farkas (shot put gold medalist) and Jack Stern (men’s long jump gold medalist).
Spencer Reh also competed in the swimming pool over the weekend and won a gold medal in the 50 freestyle; got a bronze in the 50 backstroke and came in fifth place in the 25 freestyle
The teams were coached by Caroline Lohr, Melissa Black, Wes Farkas and Steve Rosen.
In total, Goochland brought home 21 gold medals, two silver medals, one bronze medal and a fifth-place finish.
Goochland’s own coach Wes Farkas was awarded the Special Olympic honor of the Spirited Award, which is the highest achievement that a volunteer can receive from Special Olympics Virginia.
Next up for Goochland Special Olympics: the Unified Track team consisting of Special Olympic athletes Destiny Brent, Conner Emmert, Dymontrie Hopkins and Owen Powers will be joined with partners Ailey Black, Ava Freeman, Sam Farkas and Jack Stern to compete at the USA Games being held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
If you or someone you know would like to compete, coach or volunteer for the Special Olympics, please reach out to Steve Rosen at 804-399-1707.
