(Special Olympics Montana media release)
COLUMBIA FALLS — Sylvester Vermillion II of Columbia Falls, MT has been selected to represent Special Olympics Montana in powerlifting at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Vermillion was selected after his outstanding performance in powerlifting at the 2018 Special Olympics USA Games in Seattle. While in Seattle, Vermillion earned gold medals in deadlift and the triple combination, in addition to picking up silver medals in bench press and the squat. Sylvester is the only athlete selected to compete in the World Games from the state of Montana.
Vermillion joined Special Olympics in 2014 and immediately found his niche in powerlifting, b
reaking two personal best records in his second and third years. In addition to training year-round for powerlifting, Vermillion participates in basketball and golf. And, when not competing, he is an avid video gamer and fan of the Kansas City Chiefs. Vermillion is the proud father of two children with Fragile X Syndrome, and hopes to one day see them competing in Special Olympics.
Prior to the World Summer Games, Vermillion attended the Special Olympics USA Training Camp at the University of Delaware in Newark on September 17 – 21, 2018. For the next few months, Vermillion will continue to train with his local coach, Mark Kuhr from Whitefish, MT.
The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held on March 14 – 21, 2019. The Games will feature seven days of competition in 24 different sports. Approximately 7,000 Special Olympics athletes and 2,600 coaches will attend the Games in Abu Dhabi. It’s expected that Abu Dhabi will provide 20,000 volunteers and up to 500,000 spectators. These are the first Special Olympics World Games to be held in the Middle East.
