For Hunter Specht, the mountain is his residence away from residence. For years, he and his household have bonded over their ardour for snow sports activities, particularly snowboarding. However it was when Hunter’s ardour for snowboarding met Particular Olympics Colorado that he was actually capable of shine.
Whereas nonetheless in highschool, some influences in his life really useful that Hunter get entangled with Particular Olympics earlier than graduating. His mother, Teresa Specht, says it was the “greatest recommendation they’d ever gotten,” with a glowing tone in her voice.
The Particular Olympics Unified Sports activities® program at Grandview Excessive College in Aurora, Colorado proved to be extremely essential to the success Hunter has had in sports activities. His dad, John Specht, says collaborating in sports activities by means of Particular Olympics turned his “on ramp” to athletics.
Together with alpine snowboarding, Hunter competes in biking and bowling, however his favourite Particular Olympics exercise is no matter he’s doing for the time being. Hunter is just not the one one who has been impacted by the group. “It takes a village,” Teresa says concerning the affect Particular Olympics has had on her son and household. “There’s a shining gentle on Particular Olympics that adjustments lives and makes a distinction not solely in our neighborhood however on the earth and we’re so grateful.”
John is a collegiate ski racer turned Particular Olympics assistant coach who’s at each apply and is certified to teach on the superior stage. And whereas Teresa doesn’t have an official title with any of Hunter’s groups, she is at each apply and takes on a assist function wherever it’s wanted. “I ski with them and take photos and share them with the athletes and their households,” Teresa says. “The identical goes for all occasions and it’s joyful to take photos of all of them and it provides them nice pleasure to see themselves shine.”
The enjoyment of Particular Olympics is a robust factor. One thing the Specht household would want to attract on fairly a bit.
On November 10th, 2021, the Specht household was informed Hunter had most cancers.
“We got here again from the Mayo Clinic and 5 days later he was in critical surgical procedure, so critical he had incisions from ear to ear,” Teresa says. “He got here by means of that like a rockstar with no criticism.” Restoration from reconstructive hair surgical procedure adopted only for Hunter to return into one other surgical procedure and a yr of amino remedy. All through, he demonstrated the resilience that’s so attribute of Particular Olympics athletes.
Regardless of the extraordinary remedies, Hunter continued to be lively in Particular Olympics sports activities, pushing himself to be prepared for competitors. When it got here time for the 2022 Particular Olympics Colorado State Video games, only a yr after his prognosis, his physician informed him what he had been hoping to listen to. “The physician stated ‘for those who can hold the bandages in your head, I’ll launch you for the State Video games’ and off Hunter went. He seized the second and there could be no different place he would moderately be,” his mother shares with happiness. “He medaled in each occasion.”
Right this moment, Hunter is in a upkeep program and doing properly, however his prognosis and remedy affected his complete household. “You be taught a lot concerning the particular person once they undergo a life-threatening occasion,” says Teresa. “Each of my children skilled totally different well being ordeals, and it makes me proud to see how Hunter carried himself by means of your complete journey.”
Most just lately, Hunter competed on the 2024 Particular Olympics Colorado State Winter Video games at Copper Mountain, the place he as soon as once more medaled in each occasion, bringing residence gold medals in large slalom and slalom.
Regardless of the ups and downs that life and snowboarding can convey, Specht has at all times stayed concerned with Particular Olympics and stayed actively competing. It didn’t matter what sport it was or what he was going by means of in his private life, he at all times discovered a strategy to push by means of and get to the highest of the following mountain.
