Wasilla athlete to represent Alaska at World Summer Games

WASILLA — Melissa Adams, 28, will add her name this month to the list of local athletes who can say they’ve been on ESPN.

The Wasilla woman is among three athletes chosen to represent Alaska at an international competition in Athens, Greece June 25 to July 4. She will do her best alongside some 7,000 Special Olympics athletes representing 180 nations who will compete in 22 Olympic-type sports this week and next.

Adams will compete in aquatic sports, Jan Pendelton from Anchorage will compete in gymnastics and Christopher Kavanaugh from Kodiak will compete in powerlifting.

“Attending World Games is a chance of a lifetime,” Adams said in a Special Olympics press release announcing her selection. “It is a chance to represent my country, my state and my town, and a chance for me to make my coaches, family and friends proud.”

Adams and the other Alaska delegates to Team USA departed Anchorage bound for Athens, Greece on Friday to compete in the 13th annual Special Olympics World Summer Games.

And Alaska fans can follow the action online. ESPN3.com will stream Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2011 World Games live on its website at 10 a.m., June 25 and July 4. Results for the Alaska team also will be posted to the team’s facebook page at facebook.com/#!/SOTeamUSA.

“I’m looking forward to getting on the airplane tonight,” Adams said using sign language, while her mother Sandra Adams served as interpreter Friday before heading to the airport.

Over her years as an athlete, Adams said she’s tried a variety of sports, including bowling, swimming, golf, floor hockey and speed skating. But she excels in swimming.

Adams will compete in the 50-meter freestyle, 25-meter backstroke and she’ll swim the third leg on a four-person team in the 50-meter freestyle relay.

“This is a big deal because it’s the first time I’ve been out of the U.S. before,” Adams signed. “And because it’s my first time competing in the World Games.”

Both Adams and her twin sister, Melony, are longtime Special Olympics athletes.

And though Melony and mom Sandra leave for Athens Wednesday, Melony isn’t going to the World Games as an athlete. She and fellow athlete Krystina Collins are traveling to Athens as Melissa’s support team, Sandra said.

Moms Layne Larson-Collins and Sandra Adams are going to Greece as chaperones. Larson-Collins is Melony’s chaperone and Sandra is Krystina Collins’s chaperone.

Sandra said she’s thrilled her daughters will be part of this biannual event that brings together thousands of Special Olympics athletes worldwide to showcase their athletic skills and celebrate the spirit of Special Olympics.

“I’m very excited for all the girls,” she said of the group traveling from Wasilla.

It’s a milestone for their family, Sandra said. Her twin daughters were born as micro preemies, Melissa weighed 1.5 pounds and younger sister Melony weighed a few ounces more.

“They’ve come a long way,” Sandra said.

For more information, call (907) 222-7625 or visit specialolympicsalaska.org.

Contact Heather A. Resz at heather.resz@fontiersman.com or call 352-2268.