Having arrived back in Huntsville from Calgary only a few days ago, the thrill of competing at the Special Olympics Canada Winter Games still hasn’t set in for Mark Cheek.
The Huntsville native was one of 229 people who made up Team Ontario for the event. He won gold in the one-kilometre cross-country freestyle race and silver in the two-and-a-half kilometre race.
Cheek also raced in the five-kilometre trek but finished only seconds away from capturing the bronze medal.
Cheek and his coach Cindy Blake, who joined him in Calgary, spoke with the MyMuskokaNow.com newsroom from the Canada Summit Centre in Huntsville. The pair often use the facility for their weekly training sessions.
“It’s amazing being part of a team with Special Olympics,” says Cheek, who was proudly displaying his medals. “Coach Cindy is the best coach to have.”
The 23-year-old has been teamed with Blake since he started skiing years ago.
Cheek says Blake, like many other coaches, was running alongside him during the race yelling instructions like “fast” and “go hard.” However, Blake adds that, despite her best efforts, she couldn’t keep up.
“It’s my reward to see him excel in a sport that he loves,” says Blake. “I get my inspiration in life from his success.”
While Blake is who he works with the most, Cheek has a few other coaches, including some at Arrowhead Provincial Park, Gerry “who always keeps my skis waxed,” and many others who he says supported him on his journey to Calgary.
With a successful national Special Olympics behind him, Cheek is dead set on qualifying for the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games. The competition is being held in Turin, Italy in March 2025.
Blake says Cheek’s strong performance last week gave him a lot of points in the standings that will determine who is chosen to represent Canada.
“It comes down to skiing, technique, and sportsmanship,” adds Cheek.
While he admits competing on a global stage would be great, Cheek says what he enjoys most about competing is meeting people and making friends.
The athletes’ oath for the Special Olympics is, “let me win, but if I do not win, let me be brave in the attempt.” It was created by the competition’s founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968.
While touring the various spots around the Summit Centre where the pair train, Blake tells the story of how after finishing one of his races in Calgary, Cheek went up to two of the skiers from British Columbia and complimented them on “giving me a good run for my money.”
“I couldn’t be more proud of him,” she says, adding he’s become not just a great athlete but a great young man.