Chris is going for gold

By Justin Robertson
CRANBOURNE’S Chris Bourke will be shining up his softball bat and dusting off his glove as he prepares for another World Games.
Next year he’ll compete for another softball medal at the Special Olympics in Athens among 7,500 athletes from 185 countries.
The 28-year-old won gold in 2007 at the China World Games and hopes for a repeat this time around in Greece.
“It would be awesome to win gold,” he said. “It’s all very exciting.”
His love for the game of softball started at the age of five when he picked up a glove and played his first game for the Cranbourne Softball Club. That was 23 years ago and he’s still going strong for the sport.
Earlier this year Bourke made the cut for the National Games held in Adelaide where selectors met to pick their Olympic squad – which he qualified for – and he’s just returned from the Sydney Academy of sport in Narrabeen where the squad dived into fitness and skills testing before they head to Athens.
“The training camp was time for us to get together and bond,” Bourke said, who was born with a slow learning disability. “There’s about eight of us left from the last world games, so we’re like a little family.”
With one more trip to Sydney for early next year to finalise preparations before they fly out to Athens, Bourke said he’s most excited about stepping out onto the arena for the opening ceremony.
I get excited about that part because it reminds me of the normal Olympics,” he said. “All of our ceremonies are just as big as theirs and it’s pretty awesome.”