A COALSNAUGHTON swimmer is the latest to emerge as having experienced Special Olympic success - bringing home two medals to the Wee County.
Gavin Miller, 18, is a sixth year student at Alva Academy and took a place on the podium after a strong performance in the 50m backstroke, which saw him scoop a bronze medal.
He was also a part of the Forth Valley Sports team that won the gold in the 50m x4 relay, in which he did the butterfly.
The athlete’s mum Deborah was in Sheffield, cheering on her son, and she told the Advertiser: “I was over the moon because I’m his carer so I went down with him. It’s fantastic, it’s so electric.
“He’s been swimming since he was six years old. This was his second Special Olympics, in 2013 he brought home three golds.”
When asked to put into words, exactly what it meant for the teen sensation, she admitted “swimming is everything” to him.
But Gavin isn’t in it for personal acclaim, he wants to use his platform to help others and is planning on completing a coaching course at college so he can teach people with disabilities how to swim.
“He’s happy,” Deborah added. “He is a very family orientated person and loves helping others.”
It’s the swimmer’s dream to take the sport further but he’s already notched one wish off the bucket list, when he swam alongside British Paralympic swimmer Jessica-Jane Applegate and finished just five seconds behind.
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