College Station woman headed to Berlin for Special Olympics World Games

COLLEGE STATION, Texas (KBTX) -With less than 100 days until the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin, one athlete from College Station is training hard for the chance to bring home a gold medal.

Allison Dohrman, a 24-year-old cyclist with Down Syndrome, is the Lone Star State’s sole representative at the 2023 World Games.

The College Station resident will compete alongside just over 200 hundred athletes with the goal of covering the distance as quickly as possible to reach the finish line in their perspective competitions and races.

Her loved ones view this opportunity as a once-in-a-lifetime chance, one she’s worked tirelessly to earn.

“For several years she’s been doing road rascals training which is the local cycling group for Special Olympics and they compete in a regional and a state level and she has to have qualifying times and so there’s training involved each week and just training on her own so that she can make those qualifying times and then they ultimately put her name in the lottery and she was the one chosen to represent the United States from Texas,” says Allsion’s mom Michelle.

Allsion’s coaches believe that having the chance to compete in Berlin is an excellent opportunity, and they consider her one of the best representatives from Aggieland and Texas.

“She works hard when she comes to practice and is just a great teammate, encouraging others,” says Special Olympics Road Rascals Cycling Team coach David Schmitz. “She’s just a great person to have around. We’re so proud of her and happy to have her on the team.”

Allison’s mom says it’s important to not only support her daughter but all athletes involved in the Special Olympics and believes the lessons learned will stick with them forever.

“It really does help our kids to be more independent and give them that confidence so that they see that they can do things for themselves and on their own and that they can become stronger and they can have that discipline and to do even better in life,” says Michelle. “She’ll have to show some independence because she has to travel by herself part of the time, the hard work of the training and the discipline, just being able to follow directions and doing what the coaches are wanting her to do it’s going to help her grow as a person and as an athlete tremendously.”

Allison is fundraising for the portion of the trip not covered by the Special Olympics. If you would like to help or learn more we have more information at the link below.

https://givebutter.com/WorldGamesDohrman

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