Photo By Kasey Krall | Nia Brettmann with her dad, Ken Brettmann, at the Special Olympics USA Summer Games...... read more read more
Nia Brettmann is naturally good at running. At just 12 years old, she earned the chance to compete in the Special Olympics USA Summer Games 2018 held in Seattle the first week of July. Nia is the daughter of Seattle District Senior Water Manager Ken Brettmann, who decided a little over a year ago to get Nia involved in the Special Olympics athletics program just for fun – he had no idea that Nia would bring home two gold medals from this summer’s national games!
Nia attended camp and other activities for the past five years, but got started in Special Olympics track and athletics just last spring. Nia’s nanny, Gillian, heard about the program and mentioned it to Ken, who thought it was a great idea and decided to give it a try. They soon learned Nia had a natural ability and proved to be the speediest runner on the track, winning the gold last year at the Special Olympics Washington Summer Games in Tacoma. That win secured Nia a spot during this year’s national games in Seattle.
Nia is a member of the Seattle Parks Minnow Sharks and meets for training with the team once a week for about 90 minutes. Team members prepare for upcoming competitions through warm-up exercises, stretching, running their events and practicing field events like shot put. Once Nia qualified for nationals, she also began training with Team Washington and Coach Savannah Seiple, who is a recreation leader through Seattle Parks and Recreation. She has known Nia through recreation programs since 2013. “Nia has been a joy to coach, I am so proud of her,” Seiple said.
When Nia, who is the only junior track member on Team Washington, was selected to be a participant at the national level earlier this year, she and other team members received step-counting fitness bands to wear on their wrists. The bands track the wearers’ physical activity and encourage 10,000 steps per day.
The team’s daily activity goes into a database, and team members enjoy competing with each other to see who can reach the most steps per day.
“It has been amazing to watch Nia grow throughout the years, not only in competitions but as a team member and in personal interactions with her peers,” Seiple said. “All her coaches are so proud of how quickly she picked up the sport of track and field and how hard she’s worked.”
All her hard work paid off in July when she took first place in her 100 and 200-meter dash running events. When asked what her favorite part of the week at the national games had been, without hesitation she replied, “Getting two gold medals!”
Running track is Nia’s favorite activity and the area she most excels in. Some of her strongest points in the field of athletics are her competitive nature, her playful spirit, and her ability to listen to and accept feedback from her coaches, Seiple said.
In addition to the 100 and 200, Nia also participates in other track and field events like a 400-meter relay race and shot put, but Seiple feels that Nia’s athletic abilities and positive attitude would shine through anywhere. “She is an amazing athlete, so I think she could pick up any sport she tried.”
Besides running, Nia enjoys arts and crafts and drawing. She likes spending time outdoors; her current passion is catch-and-release fishing, which she and her dad try to make time for every weekend. She has an interest in entomology and studies insects she can find in her backyard, and she loves all animals, especially dogs.
| Date Taken: | 07.03.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 12.28.2018 15:44 |
| Story ID: | 305689 |
| Location: | SEATTLE, WASHINGTON, US |
| Web Views: | 166 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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