Tuesday/final update:
Scott Rohrer played his final 18 holes today. After an 81 yesterday he was two strokes off the leader. He finished with an 80 and had a cumulative score of 323. He was awarded the Bronze medal for Level 5 (Individual 18 hole). The Yas Links Abu Dhabi Golf course is on the water and they have some pretty unique weather this week. They had high winds on Sunday and Monday and even a sandstorm. Scott’s scores were 85-77-81-80.
Joshua Myers competed in Powerlifting today.
His finals are as follows:
Squat - Gold
Bench - Bronze
Deadlift - Bronze
Combined - Silver (he was edged out of the gold by his teammate).
Sunday/Monday update:
Scott Rohrer has had two rounds of golf -- per his dad Jeff -- “a very rough start” on Sunday but Monday was much better. Sunday round was 85, Monday round was 77. He’s currently 2nd in his division. Here’s hoping Tuesday goes a bit smoother. Final round will be Wednesday.
Josh won’t be competing until Wednesday. Powerlifting will be streamed live on ESPN3, 3:00 a.m. til 7:00 a.m. and Josh should be in that lift division.
The moment Josh Myers of Rock Hill found out he was chosen to represent South Carolina at the Special Olympics World Games was one for the record books.
You can’t help but get wrapped up in his euphoria when you watch the video posted on Facebook by his mom, Patti Devine Myers. In it, Josh reads the invitation for the first time and learns he’s going to Abu Dhabi.
“Dear Josh, we are excited to offer you the...oh my gosh! I’m gonna be Team USA!” Josh shouted.
The young man is one of two representing the Palmetto State; there are 216 athletes on the American team.
During his time in Special Olympics, Josh has competed in many sports including bocce, bowling, swimming, and soccer. However, he was especially thrilled when he found out which event he'll participate in this spring.
“I’m going for powerlifting?” Josh asked in the video.
“Yeah, what do you think?” said Patti, who was watching the scene unfold through FaceTime from another location.
“I said, Ohhhhhh yeaaaaahhhhh!” Josh yelled.
Patti hasn’t always been Josh’s mom; she started out as his special education teacher. When Josh’s biological mother was diagnosed with cancer and started going through chemotherapy, Patti babysat for Josh. A few years later, his mother passed away, and Patti became his legal guardian. Josh was 8-years-old.
“He first started calling me ‘Aunt Patti’ and then eventually one day he just started calling me ‘Mom,’” she said.
Josh’s first international competition was on the soccer team in Raleigh, but this is his first time competing at the world games in powerlifting.
Scott Rohrer, on the other hand, is no stranger to the Special Olympics World Games. The Clover native has been to several international competitions and set the world games low score record (66) in golf in Los Angeles in 2015.
Elisabeth Rohrer, Scott’s mother, will be his caddy in Abu Dhabi.
“She takes care of his clubs, does that sort of thing, and then encourages him,” said dad Jeff Rohrer. “If he makes a bad shot, she just encourages him to keep going.”
Jeff, who’s also a golfer, caddied once for Scott at a competition in Denmark, but the pairing didn’t quite work out.
“He doesn’t need all the information, wind speed and all that kind of stuff,” Jeff said. “I thought I was doing the caddy thing, but it was too much for him.”
“So, he basically fired you?” asked NBC Charlotte.
“Yes, I’ve been fired,” Jeff admitted, with a chuckle.
Jeff said his son gets so much more out of the games than the thrill of victory.
“The lasting friendships and relationships that you have, just from one competition, it’s amazing,” he said.
Still, Scott expects to do big things in Abu Dhabi.
“It’s truly an honor to go and be a part of this, especially through all the events I’ve been through, I think this one’s probably going to be close to number one,” Scott said.
As the games get closer, Josh has some advice for his Special Olympics USA teammates as well as his opponents from all over the world.
“Just have fun and get to meet a lot of new people. Just have fun with it and go with the flow,” he said.
On the other hand, like Scott, Josh has great expectations for the competition. Just his past weekend, he lifted 501 lbs., a personal record.
“It’s not whether you win gold, silver, bronze, or any type of ribbon, but I’m aiming for one of those medals; that’s my goal," Josh said as he let out a little laugh.
