Brittany Painter goes to Shanghai

By JILLIAN BEAUDRY
Of the News-Register

At 8 a.m. Thursday, she laced up her sneakers and ran from Dayton to the other side of Newberg, accompanying the torch that will kick off the Oregon State Special Olympic Summer Games.

Despite a disability, this runner has found her niche and has the to prove it.

Amity High School junior Brittany Painter, 17, was diagnosed as being developmentally slow in kindergarten, but she hasn't let that slow her down.

"She wasn't up to the speed of the other kids," her mother, Laurie Painter, said.

Her mother said Brittany began running track when she was 5, and the Special Olympics program was suggested by a teacher. Painter has continued competing in local games since.

"She has won gold medals pretty much ever since she started," her mother said.

Painter also runs on Amity High's cross country and track teams, where she holds steady at the middle of the pack.

Thursday's local leg of the torch run ended at the Washington County border as a prelude to today's state summer games. Yamhill County Sheriff's Deputy Ken Jackson carried the torch and was accompanied by Painter and about a dozen other runners.

Painter will compete in the Special Olympics track meet in the 1,800, 800 and 4x100 relay in Hillsboro. However, this is not Painter's highest honor.

She was chosen by Special Olympics of Oregon to participate in the World Games in Shanghai, China, in October. Only two athletes were picked from the state, and she will join 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from all over the world.

"I'm really excited to visit places and also run," Painter said. "I will be spending three days with a Chinese family."

The program has made a positive impact on Painter and she said she will continue competing and running her entire life.

"When I'm out of high school, I'll go to the track to keep up with running," she said.

Brittany also is gearing up for the cross country season, which begins in August.

For information about Special Olympics, visit its website at www.soor.org.