Local Special Olympians Medal in Orlando

(KNSI) – A magical time.

That’s how Lisa Edelbrock describes representing St. Cloud and the State of Minnesota last week in the Special Olympic Games in Orlando, Florida.

Edelbrock is the head of the local delegation and the team’s swim instructor. She has been involved with Special Olympics for decades. Her son, Shelby Eisenschenk, is autistic and nonverbal. Edelbrock credits participating in Special Olympics for helping Shelby come into his own. She says when he first started at age 9 he was a loner, but who he is today is a very different person.

“Athletes and coaches know him. He is just an outgoing, gregarious, happy, engaged individual who just loves every aspect of Special Olympics. He knows that when he walks in that building he is equal to everybody there,” Edelbrock says.

Now in his thirties, Shelby is a swimmer. He made the podium in three events.

“My son went into it…we didn’t know how he would do, but he came home with two golds and a bronze. Absolutely amazing for him and he knew it! I mean when he was on that podium he absolutely knew how good he had done, and he had done his best.”

Also medaling were Chelsey and Maria Roesner of Sauk Rapids. Chelsey is an athlete and Maria is a unified partner in bowling.

The USA Games were held at Disney World, which was a thrill for those participating.

“It was magical. I mean it really was magical. Because a lot of the athletes know of Disney, are focused on Disney, and so just for those two worlds for them to collide all in one place, it was really cool. It was really fun. And they did a lot for the athletes,” says Edelbrock.

Athletes had one night each where a section of the park was only available to them. The Magic Kingdom characterized by Cinderella’s castle and the Animal Kingdom were closed off to other Disney guests on separate evenings, to let the competitors get the true Orlando experience.

It was announced last month that the Twin Cities will be hosting the 2026 games. Edelbrock says she hopes to be coaching again, but if that doesn’t happen, she’ll be there in some role helping Minnesota put its best foot forward for the rest of the country.

“There’s just so many different things you can do to volunteer, whether it be timing or you could be at the track. There was a group that came up to us one day, they were handing out pins, and they were just the cheer squad.”

You don’t have to wait for four years to volunteer. Edelbrock says unified partners are hard to find. They are people without disabilities who participate alongside Special Olympians. She says for some sports the arrangement makes a lot of sense. Edelbrock uses golf as an example.

“It’s best for a beginner to have a unified partner because they can give them that one-on-one [attention] to help them teach them that sport, and then they can grow from there.”

Each member of St. Cloud’s Special Olympics program practices weekly, between one and two hours per session.

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