Orange Grove's Gonzales Takes Gold In World Special Olympics

  • Sunday, August 2, 2015
  • Roy Exum
Orange Grove's Debra Gonzales was full of giggles at a reception before she went to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games. She is shown talking to Bob McKamey, who hosted the party at his Toyota dealership, as  Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger look on.
Orange Grove's Debra Gonzales was full of giggles at a reception before she went to the 2015 Special Olympics World Games. She is shown talking to Bob McKamey, who hosted the party at his Toyota dealership, as Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke and Hamilton County Mayor Jim Coppinger look on.
photo by Jim Taylor

Debra Gonzales, a resident at Orange Grove Center, is a world champion. The cute 21-year-old, who moved to Chattanooga two years ago, took first place in the shot put at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles after entering the event on a whim. 

Debra’s winning throw of 4.49 meters bested a 4.30 heave by Darinka Pasapera of Peru while Grace Dindillo of Papua, New Guinea, was third. Female athletes from Mongolia, The Netherlands and Canada, respectively, rounded out the top six. 

In addition, the fun-loving Gonzales placed sixth in the world with a time of 25.41 in the 100 meters and was the anchor on a 4X400 relay team Saturday night. Before leaving Chattanooga for Los Angeles, her mother said, “I don’t care if she wins. She’s not always come in first but, like all athletes, she gives it her best. All I want ifs for her to be happy.” 

Over 7,000 athletes representing 117 countries took place in the World Games, which ended Saturday night and 30,000 volunteers helped make the event the largest in Special Olympics history. Debra was given a special send-off – and a handsome check for expenses -- by the Toyota Corporation and Capital Toyota of Chattanooga. Toyota, a key sponsor, supplied 400 vehicles for the  World Games. 

“We had a reception for Debra just before she left and that girl is a character. She captured the hearts of everyone who was here and what a thrill it is that she won the whole thing,” said Bob McKamey, the owner of Capital Toyota. “That’s ‘Chattanooga Strong’!” he added. 

Debra came to Orange Grove after her mother discovered the world-acclaimed center for those with intellectual and physical disabilities. The family lives in LaFayette, La., but Debra competed in the Games as a Tennessean. “That’s where I live,” she laughed. 

She is in the independent-living program and shares an apartment with two roomates. “I am very proud of myself. I didn’t think I could live alone … but I can!” 

There is no way she could ever have thought she would be No. 1 in the world. She dreamed of the World Games when she watched the 2008 Games on TV from Beijing. Her mother distinctly remembers Debra saying, “I want to do that,” at the time but was “absolutely floored” when she found out her daughter would be part of the 493 members of Team USA. 

She has trained all spring and summer with T.C. Cox, a coach at Orange Grove, and has thrived in physical therapy that UTC, under Dr. Sue Barlow, has provided. 

It is believed Debra is the first Chattanoogan to place first in an Olympic event, although Brainerd’s Venus Lacey was a member of the USA women’s basketball team.

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