KALISPELL — It is hard to find an athlete more determined to take home medals than Mandy Brinkmeyer of Kalispell, who has been competing in the Special Olympics for years.
“It made me a better person and just made my life bigger,” Brinkmeyer said.
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After joining the Glacier Unified track team in high school, her love of running grew as she learned the proper techniques in that program.
“It just taught me how to follow the rules,” Brinkmeyer said. “Be a good sport, all the easy things.”
Her performance last season with Glacier qualified Brinkmeyer for the 2026 USA Games in Minneapolis, where she and Reid Hicks will be the two representatives from the Flathead Valley.
Brinkmeyer says she is looking forward to traveling and competing with people from across the country.
“I would say probably just I'm excited to go because it's kind of like a dream,” Brinkmeyer said. “Not everyone gets this, what I have, me and Reid, honestly.”
The one thing Brinkmeyer loves to do more than run is cheer for her teammates on her current team, the Whitefish Thunder.
Her coach, Kent Morrison, says she is an uplifting spirit for the entire team.
“She's not only a great competitor, but she's a great teammate,” Morrison said. “She's in it for the success of others as well as for herself.”
Even though Brinkmeyer is an encouraging person, that has not shaken her confidence to perform well against her competitors in Minneapolis.
“I'm going to make them go down in the garbage can,” Brinkmeyer said. “No, seriously, I am, in a nice way, though, because I'm not rude about it.”
