Dunboyne AC member for three events at Special Olympics World Games
Dunboyne Athletics Club's Emma Costello has been selected on the Irish Special Olympics Team for the World Games in Berlin, in June 2023. She will take part in the 400m, Long Jump and 4 x 100m Relay competitions.
Emma is a very active member of both Navan Special Olympics Club and Dunboyne Athletics Club Fit4Youth Group. As well as fitting in a busy training schedule, she is also a well-respected coach to juvenile members at Dunboyne AC.
Emma’s introduction to athletics and Special Olympics began in 2013, when she joined Navan Special Olympics Club (Navan SO). She trained for 100m and 200m events taking part in the Non-Advancement competitions in 2015.
In 2016, Emma represented Navan SO Club in the Area Advancements in 100m and 200m events. In 2017 she progressed to the Regional Advancements for Leinster, winning gold medals in both events. As Special Olympics qualification operates both on achievement and subsequently, on a lottery basis due to availability of places, Emma was successfully drawn for the Leinster team to participate in the Ireland games in June 2018.
Emma joined the Fit4Youth group at Dunboyne AC in January 2018 to prepare her for the Ireland games in June. She won Bronze in both the 100m and 200m at these games. However, as only gold and some silver medallists achieved entry to the draw for the world games, the 2019 games were out of reach. This made Emma more determined than ever to do her best for the next time.
Emma continued to train in 2018/2019. After the summer break, she was back with both Navan Special Olympics club and Dunboyne Fit4Youth with eyes set on the 2023 games. Her plan was to do 200m and 400m events, but as happened for many others, Covid threatened to spoil her plans. Dunboyne AC implemented a safe training plan, which enabled Emma to use the track facilities.
The Area Advancement / Divisioning competitions took place in May 2022, where Emma competed in 400m, Long Jump and 4 x 100m Relay, qualifying for the regionals held in June 2022 where she won gold in both the 400m and the long jump; this gained her automatic entry into the draw for the World Games to be held in Berlin in June 2023.
In the same games, Katie and Alanna, also Dunboyne AC and Special Olympics athletes, both won gold and silver medals in their events.
The gold medal winners from each region went into the draw in November 2022. The Ulster region came out of the draw for Emma’s events, with Leinster athlete Emma as the reserve. The Ulster athlete was unable to compete, so Emma was contacted with the offer of a place on Team Ireland.
Emma will compete in the 400m, Long Jump and 4 x 100m Relay on the Irish Special Olympics Team in Berlin, Germany from 17th to 25th June.
Emma is extremely proud and honoured to be representing her family, friends, Navan Special Olympics club, Dunboyne Athletics Club and Ireland.
Emma is grateful for the training and encouragement from her Fit4Youth friends and her coaches in Dunboyne AC and they are equally proud of her achievement. She is a hardworking and focused athlete and they are delighted that she is getting this opportunity of a lifetime.