Massachusetts Special Olympics athlete surprised with entry into US games

[June 9, 2021: Josh Shavit]

A Special Olympics athlete from Massachusetts is getting a new chance to showcase her talent.

Lumene "Lightning" Montissol, 26, of Mattapan, a gold medalist at the Special Olympics in Massachusetts, competes in basketball, track and soccer and is a member of the New England Revolution Unified Team. She has earned 12 gold medals to date.

Her dream is to compete in the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games in Orlando, Florida.

“Good Morning America” teamed up with her dad this week to surprise her with an entry into the games.

“I am crying because I am happy. My dream — has already come true. I feel super grateful for it. I’ve been waiting for this dream for a long time. I am very grateful. I am so happy,” she said.

Montissol said if she had any advice for others it would be to “be proud of who you are.”

A shy girl growing up, Lumene said sports and the Special Olympics give her confidence

“Before the Special Olympics I had, like, no one to talk to. It is kind of lonely, and no one there wants to talk to you because you feel different. But now, since I joined Special Olympics, I became more talkative to others. It makes me feel happy. It keeps showing me a lot of confidence to socialize with other people,” she said.

More than 5,500 athletes are set to compete in the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.

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Tags: #Good_News, #Sports, #Olympics, #The_Brighter_Side_of_News