Mt. Laurel resident racks up medals in Maccabi Games special swimming events

Mt. Laurel resident Shayna Simon was one of the most decorated athletes at the Katz JCC Maccabi Games in Cherry Hill last week.

Sitting in the swimmers’ warm-up area with three medals around her neck, Simon, 13, sat with a smile on her face, greeting swimmer after swimmer who came up to talk to her.

Simon wasn’t the fastest swimmer at the Maccabi Games, but she may have been the one with the most heart.

Simon swan in seven special events at the Maccabi Games. The special swimming events are non-competitive heats for children with special needs. Participating children receive medals for completing the events. The special heats give those kids a chance to compete in the same events as the other athletes.

Simon first learned to swim at the JCC Camps in Medford. She has been going to classes there for about six years.

“I learned how to do the freestyle and the backstroke,” she said.

Shayna’s mother Laura was originally going to enroll Shayna in the special bowling event, but switched gears after talking to officials from the Katz JCC. Shayna participates in the Katz JCC’s ACHAD program.

“They called us up and asked if Shayna could swim,” Laura said. “She’s a very strong swimmer because she goes to the JCC Camp out in Medford, and they were really enthusiastic and want to push for the kids to learn how to swim.”

Shayna’s desire to participate in the Maccabi Games captured the hearts of the Simon family’s synagogue, Adath Emanu-El. The cost to participate in the games was $950.

“A lot of the people from the synagogue and a lot of our friends donated so Shayna could attend,” Laura said.

For Shayna, the experience has been well worth the donations. While she enjoys the swimming and the competition, her favorite part of the experience has been making new friends and meeting kids from around the world.

Making new friends took place at home as well as during competition. The Simons participated as a host family for the events. A group of swimmers from Bridgewater stayed with the family for the week.

Shayna also made friends at the multitude of Maccabi Game events. She talked about meeting athletes from the Israeli delegation and having fun with kids from Team Baltimore during “hang time.” The kids invited Shayna to take part in games such as Guitar Hero and Dance Dance Revolution.

“I played on the guitar, it was like I was in a rock band,” Shayna said.

The friendships Shayna made extended to the nightly events for the athletes. Two of Shayna’s favorite activities were trips to Sahara Sam’s and Clementon Park.

Shayna is eligible to compete three more years at the Maccabi Games. While the next few years will see the games travel to other locales, Shayna is excited to travel and continue competing.

“I want to do this again,” she said. “I want to do more swimming, more competition and meeting new people.”

Regardless of what happens in the years ahead, Laura says Shayna has had the time of her life at this year’s Maccabi Games.

“For her to be able to participate is wonderful,” she said. “This is a lifetime event. She’ll talk about this forever.”