Special Olympian Jackie Barrett honoured at Sports Charity Dinner

Special Olympian Jackie Barrett received a special honour Thursday night at the 52nd Annual Desjardins Sports Chairty Dinner in Halifax.

Barrett, along with Olympic gymnast Ellie Black, was presented the Progress Club’s Sports Legacy Award.

Just four athletes have received the award so far. In addition to Black and Barrett, world champion curler Colleen Jones and Stanley Cup winner Sydney Crosby have also been honoured.

The Sports Chairty Dinner is a yearly event that raises funds in support of Canadian Progress Club – Halifax charities

“It feels great to be a part of the luncheon, as well as the dinner, because it’s a good way to give back to the Special Olympics, the Club Inclusion, as well as the King’s Meadow Home,” said Barrett.

Barrett has won 13 gold medals at four Special Olympic World Summer Games and is a two-time Special Olympics Canada Male Athlete of the year.

“It takes a lot of support to have a great athlete and live the Special Olympics dream. That includes the volunteers who donate countless hours to help an athlete be a success,” said Barrett.

“It also takes some great organizations like the Canadian Progress Club who donate their time and money to help make the Special Olympics dream happen.

With an athletic career filled with memorable moments, Barrett says there is one that stands out above the rest.

“My favourite moment in my Special Olympics career was definitely the 2015 Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles, where I squatted over 600 pounds in front of a capacity crowd at the Los Angeles Convention Centre,” he said.

At those games, Barrett set records in the Squat, Deadlift, and the Triple Combination.

“My favourite lift is definitely the deadlift, even though the squat was one lift that made me a big success in Los Angeles and proved to the world that 600 pounds is truly 600 pounds,” said Barrett.

Barrett was previously inducted into the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame and was the first Special Olympian to be inducted in the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.

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