Special Olympics Bowling Champ Speaks Out About Funding

Garden City, Idaho -President Trump wants to keep federal funding in place for Special Olympics. It’s a sigh of relief for many athletes across the country. KXL’s Steve Leader talked with one of them from the Pacific Northwest. 38-year-old Jon Harmon is from Garden City, Idaho – just outside of Boise. He has autism. And his miracle cure is bowling.

He discovered around the age of 9, that bowling helped him focus through this autism. He’s been bowling ever since. Now he bowls in Special Olympics. He won 2nd place in the recent U.S. National tournament, which qualified him for the Special Olympics World Games, which he just got back from two weeks ago. It’s the first time he’s ever done anything like this before and it’s changed his life. He says he’s happy to see funding stay in place for Special Olympics, because so many athletes need it. He says it helps athletes like himself with disabilities to become stronger and better people all around. The program has certainly helped Jon achieve a dream come true as a real professional bowler winning a world title on the biggest stage in the sport for these athletes.

As a fun side note, Jon has bowled a perfect 300 game! He has started getting some sponsorship and gear offers. And hes already getting ready for the next Special Olympics National Tournament in Florida in 2022.

CBS News reports President Trump is backing off a budget request to eliminate funding for the Special Olympics, reversing course on a proposal that was unlikely to be approved by Congress after days of bipartisan criticism.

Listen to the full interview here:

 

KXL’s Jacob Dean contributed to this article.