2 Special Olympics champions honored

On Saturday, Carbon County celebrated Delina Rodrigues and Matt Anthony’s achievements with a ceremony in Palmerton Park.

Rodrigues took home a gold at the World Games in Abu Dhabi, while Anthony won in bowling at the national level in Las Vegas.

The Special Olympics athletes’ arrival was marked by an escort of flashing fire and ambulance vehicles.

The park was filled with hundreds of supporters, including other Special Olympics of Carbon County participants, who held congratulatory signs bearing their fellow athletes’ names and encouraging words like “Greatest of All Time” and “You Make Palmerton Proud.”

Miniature American Flags were placed along the sidewalks leading to the park’s gazebo, where seats for Rodrigues and Anthony were placed under an arch of red, white and blue balloons.

When the Palmerton Area High School Band began to play, Rodrigues and Anthony marched into the park, accompanied by members of the Palmerton United Veterans Organization.

Special Olympics of Carbon County athletes led the crowd in singing the national anthem.

“I’m just very grateful that everyone was here to celebrate me and Delina, for our accomplishments, for what we did the last couple of weeks,” Anthony said to the audience. “I’m just very surprised that everyone just came together and did this for us, and I’m just touched.

“My heart is pounding with joy,” he said.

The commemoration featured a long list of speakers, including Palmerton Mayor Chris Olivia, who named March 23, 2019, “Matt Anthony and Delina Rodrigues Day”; state Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon; U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser; Jennifer Tresp, training and unified sports director at Special Olympics Pennsylvania; and more.

“It is an incredible honor to be here — my hometown of Palmerton — with two hometown athletes who just showed the world and nation what we can do here in Palmerton,” Heffley said.

“Thanks to these two great athletes, Palmerton is just a center of inspiration,” Meuser said.