Two Kinds of Champions by Tina Jia
When it comes to Special Olympics, there are two kinds of champions: those who are competing on the field or in the gym, and those who are rallying behind athletes, fighting for their rights and the dignity that is every person’s birthright. I am lucky enough to have been both kinds of champion.
My name is Tina Jia, and I’m from Beijing. My story begins like so many others belonging to people with intellectual disabilities (ID). In what I call “the old days,” there was a lot of confusion, sadness and isolation in my childhood. Not only did my peers bully me for being different, but my teachers actively ignored the situation. I soon dropped out and stayed at home, falling behind in my education due to in-classroom cruelty and lack of acceptance. After a year, I returned to a school that included people with ID and was blessed to find out about Special Olympics from my new, kind teacher who cared about my success. It was then I became the first kind of champion, the one on the playing field.
I started training in 1999 in swimming, gymnastics, basketball and more. I couldn’t get enough of sports! I worked hard in practice and was thrilled to travel across the world with my coach to compete in the 10th Special Olympics World Summer Games in Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill, North Carolina. I focused on my gymnastics and took bronze in vault and was shocked when I won gold in balance beam. Comparing myself to other athletes, I thought my balance had been the worst. I suppose that’s a lesson for all of us; self-doubt is often incorrect. I made my coach, my family and, most importantly, myself proud at World Games.
My life changed again when I was selected to be a Sargent Shriver International Global Messenger in the 2000–2002 class. The opportunity to inspire others with my story and educate people on the significance of inclusion all over the world made me a jetsetter on a mission. I met four presidents, two American, two Chinese: Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Jiang Zeming and Hu Jintao. As I shook their hands I was nervous but excited to talk with each of them and take pictures. My favorite conversation was with President Hu Jintao, whom I met while with Special Olympics International Chairman Dr. Timothy Shriver. President Hu Jintao asked me about my wishes and dreams, and my answer came easy. I dreamed of more people with ID having access to and participating in Special Olympics. I was elated and hopeful when he responded, “Your dream will come true.” I believe President Hu Jintao took my words to heart, because soon I began to see changes all around me. When I was on a flight with fellow colleagues with ID, a man without ID couldn’t help but overhear our conversations about the conference we’d just attended. I cannot speak for my colleagues, but I’m used to being stared or even pointed at by strangers, so I was delighted when the man joined in on our conversation, exhibiting respect and sincere interest in our work. We even looked at pictures of the conference together. This goes to show that when people with ID are given the chance, we can propel meaningful change in society.
I had officially morphed into the second kind of champion. When I wasn’t traveling to spread the word of inclusion for people with ID, I was working at the Disabled Persons’ Federation in China making Chinese knot handicrafts. I worked alongside people with physical disabilities, making friends and developing a further understanding of the power of inclusion for people with all kinds of disabilities. In that job, we all helped each other, and no one ever looked down on someone else. It was a true model of an ideal workplace in terms of respect and inclusion.
After working at China’s Disabled Persons’ Federation, I became employed at Special Olympics East Asia (SOEA), thrilled to return to my old stomping grounds and continue my mission to champion athletes on the field and those who’ve not yet made it there. There are so many people with ID in China, in the whole world, really, and I hope they can all find Special Olympics to play together and build confidence and rich relationships. At SOEA I was given meaningful roles, taught new skills, and was able to work independently without microaggressions like only being given menial tasks or even simply being told to “sit down.” Returning to SOEA felt like home.
Like staff and volunteers put on World Games and cheered me on in North Carolina in 1999, I was able to return the favor twenty years later when I went to World Games Abu Dhabi 2019. At that point I’d officially been both an athlete and an employee at World Games. I’d stopped participating in Special Olympics sports ten years prior, and it felt good to give back on such a huge scale in the United Arab Emirates. My circle of participation was complete! When it comes to Special Olympics, both the fun and work are never done.
Like it has for so many, Covid-19 has changed most everything in terms of the way I work. While I haven’t physically returned to the office, I’m able to continue my championing work from home by attending meetings and consulting on the strategic plan via Zoom calls and emails. While I miss seeing my colleagues in person, we still get to connect in other ways. Even though the mode of communication has changed, my voice and feedback are still heard and valued. One of the biggest events during the pandemic for me was attending the SOEA Regional Athlete Input Council virtual meetings. We all heard each other out with enthusiasm and collaborated our thoughts. The call was productive, lively and of course fun! It’s always a celebratory time when progress is made for people with ID.
While I may have retired my official Special Olympics athlete champion role, I am still going strong as a champion and a Unified Leadership role model for Special Olympics and all people with ID, and I don’t have plans to stop anytime soon. One of the best things about Unified Leadership training is that it includes people both with and without ID, especially those in corporate settings where big, influential hiring decisions are being made. Societal change at work is a two-way street, and together we’re working to meaningfully include people with ID from both ends.
My husband and I live with our beloved pets in a beautiful house. I have a life that’s been richly blessed and have come a long way since “the old days.” I know now that having ID is just one factor about me, like having brown hair or being a person who enjoys gymnastics. I’m not defined by any one thing, and I hope other people will realize that too. I don’t want to be treated differently, I want to be treated the same as anyone else, and I believe that’s a possibility. I look forward to continuing to champion, working to spread news of the Special Olympics movement for the purpose of inclusion, joy and building confidence for all people with ID. The future is bright.
I wonder. Which kind of champion are you?
