From the top of the podium to plunging into the freezing waters of Alouette Lake, Special Olympian and Pitt Meadows resident Coby Dandridge says he can’t wait to take part again this summer.
Coby will compete in various swimming events in Medicine Hat, Alberta, for the 2026 Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.
“It means a lot, getting the chance to show my city that we can do anything,” Coby said.
On Thursday, Coby and four other Special Olympians took part in the BC RCMP’s Polar Plunge fundraiser, which helps athletes with intellectual disabilities participate in sports.
“It’s the best thing ever. Raising money for us, it means we get to do stuff, and it’s basically giving us a chance,” he said.
“The winter Olympics just happened in Italy, and it gives us a chance to feel that for ourselves, and just like regulars, we can actually go to Worlds, and that’s basically my dream.”
Heather Lambert, Dandridge’s swim coach, says programs like the BC Special Olympics help athletes find community.
“It gives them that safe space, that space to try hard things and to fall and to get back up and continue on,” she said.
Coby said he was getting a little bit nervous to take the plunge into the freezing cold water in Alouette Lake, but he remembered his strength and gold medals and then dove in.
Lambert says she is proud of all her athletes.
“They are all wonderful human beings.”
