The Passion & Determination
of a World Champion
By Steven Dreger, Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Manitoba
In sports there are a few main ingredients to being a
champion. Passion and determination are at the top of
that recipe. Special Olympics Manitoba athlete, Ryan
Kniesz sets his goals very high and he worked very hard
to achieve those goals.
“You can’t let anyone tell you can’t do it,” are the words
that Ryan uses to fuel his passion and determination.
Ryan Kniesz was introduced to Special Olympics
Manitoba 20 years ago by a teacher at school. The
opportunity to compete with Special Olympics opened
up many doors for Ryan. Participating in figure skating,
speed skating, snowshoeing, floor hockey and track &
field Ryan knows what it takes to be a champion. The
goal that he set for himself was to become a Special
Olympics World Summer Games gold medalist; a world
champion!
After bringing home a gold medal from the 2014 Special
Olympics Canada Summer Games in Vancouver in the
pentathlon event, Team Canada was on the horizon.
Ryan anxiously waited to hear if he would represent
Team Canada at the Special Olympics World Games in
Los Angeles. While surfing Facebook, he noticed a Special
Olympics Canada post listing the track & field team for
the World Games. That was the moment Ryan knew his
goal had legs.
Training for the Special Olympics World Summer
Games was of great importance to Team Canada. Athletes
were sent to training camps and to specialized trainers.
They were given nutritional tips and the athletes ramped
up their training schedules.
Special Olympics Manitoba powerlifting coach, Brent
Lohmer, was paired up with Ryan for core strength
training at the Sport For Life Centre in Winnipeg.
“Ryan is a highly athletic guy. He was determined
from day one that he was going to win the pentathlon
gold medal at the World Games. We would talk about the
Games at every one of our sessions,” said coach Lohmer.
Training at the Sport For Life Centre gym twice a week
and training with his track & field coach Janice Howe
two to three times a week, the road to Los Angeles was a
difficult one. There were many speed bumps along the
way but one major road block had him parked for a few
weeks.
At the Kinsmen Indoor Track Meet the speedy Caleb
Friesen from the Eastman region was neck and neck with
Ryan in the 60 meter sprint. On Ryan’s last stride over
the finish line, he felt a discomfort in his right calf. The
doctors and therapists told him he had a slight stress tear
in a ligament. With about 70 days left before the Games
Ryan – High Jump
began, Ryan didn’t lose faith in his goal. Even though he
had to sit out, Ryan still went to his teams practices.
After almost three weeks on the sidelines, Ryan slowly
returned to his training schedule. Coach Brent and Coach
Janice were key to getting things back on track.
With a successful recovery, Ryan was heading into the
Games having achieved personal best results at training
sessions leading up to his departure to Los Angeles.
Having won a bronze medal at the 2011 Special
Olympics World Games Summer Games in Athens,
Greece, Ryan knew how to handle the pressure of
competing at a World Games. This is where his passion
and determination took over. A performance highlighted
by the high jump and shotput events, Ryan won a gold
medal while wearing the maple leaf on his jersey! His
passion for pentathlon and determination to win that
gold medal proved triumphant on the world stage. Ryan
Kniesz is a world champion! l
sportslife / 15