BERLIN — Congratulations to Team USA!
Special Olympics Arizona says Team USA took home the silver medal in the Men’s/Mixed Unified Sports Team Basketball Competition at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023.
Team USA, which has team members from Arizona, is the only all-female team in the Men’s/Mixed division.
The team beat out Austria and Romania, falling only to Kuwait in the gold medal match, Special Olympics officials say.
The Unified 3X3 basketball team was led by head coach Mary Roberts and assistant coach Mandy Faust, with the team consisting of athletes Lindsay Hayes, Sarah Gaudio and Vanessa Robles; and Unified Partners Summer Burgess and Taylor Lifgren.
“I couldn’t be more proud of this team, the coaching staff, and everyone involved, this is such a great accomplishment,” said Special Olympics Arizona President and CEO Jamie Heckerman in a press release. “This team has a lot of heart and a lot of competitiveness. When they found out there would not be an all-female division, they wanted to take on the challenge and enter the Men’s division as an all-female team anyway. We are so excited to welcome them home and share in this victory.”
More than 7,000 athletes competed in 25 sports during the Berlin games earlier this month.
