John Andrew and Liam Return Home from the Special Olympics Winter Games in New York
John’s Crazy Socks is proud to report that three of its athletes, John Cronin, Andrew Oh and Liam Mrotzek, returned home from the 2018 Special Olympics Winter Games, held in Rochester, N.Y., from February 23-25, bringing back gold, silver and bronze medals.
John, Andrew and Liam competed in the Winter Games with the Huntington Blue Devils Special Olympics Team. Their cooperation and synergy, on the field and at work, are two of the reasons for their success.
As a team, John, Andrew and Liam seized eight medals for the Huntington Blue Devils. Individually, Liam won two gold medals in the 4x1 and the 200; Andrew had a good showing with gold in the 4x1, silver the 100 and bronze in the 200; and John took away two golds and one bronze, in the 4x1, 100 and 200 meter dashes, respectively.
Andrew reports that a fierce vein of competition ran through the games. “Liam,” he says shaking his head, “beat me in the 200.” “But I did win three medals,” he says with a smile for Liam, who won two because his fourth event, the 400 meter, was cancelled.
Liam Mrotzek competed as a member of the U.S. National Team for snowshoeing in the World Games at Austria. He takes victory serenely, even with a touch of bravado: “In Austria I won two bronze medals for snowshoeing,” he says, “and I met athletes from all over the world, like Spain and Japan.” For this athlete, competition at the state level is merely the staging ground and the simplest beginning to the world level.
What Special Olympics is, and how and why it ennobles athletes and people with intellectual disabilities, is probably not news to our customers and readers. But it bears repeating that the Games, which include thousands of cold-water Polar Plunges annually, are spotlights of excitement for John, Andrew and Liam. Special Olympics emphasizes training and competition and these three young men are the epitome of the Special Olympics.
“I love the Special Olympics. I look forward to it all year, and polar plunges too,” says John Cronin, co-founder of John’s Crazy Socks. “Each year I get faster, and I love to train.”
John’s improved performance, along with Andrew and Liam’s, is the result of an intense and uninterrupted training regimen. In the summer months, the team practices sprinting on the beach; and in the winter, undeterred by coastal Long Island’s freezing wind and fog, they do the same. “We practice running on sand to prepare us for the snow,” John explains with his toothy grin, one of the happiest I’ve seen.
John, Andrew and Liam’s long-time participation in Special Olympics events, and the joy it brings their lives is one of the reasons why we donate to the Special Olympics. We donate 5 percent of our profits plus 5 percent of the sales from our Sock of the Month Club to support the Special Olympics. Our Polar Plunge Socks and Shark Socks raise money for the Special Olympics, also.
We want the world to know how much can be achieved with persistent training and a clear motivation. We are proud of our Special Olympic athletes and the way they help us fulfill our mission: Spreading Happiness.
