With Special Olympics, everything is possible. Skiing on snow in Coral Springs, Florida, is not one of those things. Despite the complete absence of snow, the stifling heat, Special Olympics USA athlete Kellie Matthew became a skier. And in the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025, she became a gold-medal skier. Watching her fly down the run, one would never know – Kellie had never competed on snow.
“Uniquely, just being Florida, not being a snow sport state, she’s done amazing in her dry land training,” said Special Olympics USA alpine skiing coach Jason Kohler. “They have this mound they use, a sand dune. It’s a blue tarp and they spritz it with a soapy solution, and they train on that to develop her turns.”
From North Carolina, Kellie began competing in Special Olympics at 9 years old, two decades ago. For many years, she was solely focused on summer sports – basketball and swimming. Most swimmers average 2 miles per hour, with Olympians, like Michael Phelps, reaching 6 miles per hour. But Kellie wanted to go much faster than that. So, when her family relocated to Florida three years ago, she did what any new Floridian would do – she learned to ski.
“I decided to ski because I like speed,” said Kellie. “I think this is a great platform for people like me who love to ski, but also you haven’t seen many Black [athletes] ski as much, so it’s cool getting to do this.”
Facing the heights of the Italian Alps, Kellie adapted to her new environment in the days leading up to Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 competition. Repositioning her body and adapting her movements to the freshly fallen snow, Kellie quickly found her stride. And on March 12, Kellie claimed a gold medal in the Intermediate Giant Slalom Final, with a time of 1:59.270, four seconds faster than the silver medalist. The following day, she was awarded a fourth-place ribbon in the Intermediate Super G event, finishing with a time of 1:11.67.
Given the high altitude, the long ski seasons and varying terrain, skiers around the world dream of the Italian Alps. In the world of winter sports, Sestriere, Italy, is renowned. The highest municipality in Italy, Sestriere hosted the 2006 Winter Olympics. To ski these slopes is a privilege, and one that Kellie is honored to have.
“A lot of [people with intellectual disabilities] do not get the opportunity to do this, because people in the world think they are dumb, they’re not smart,” said Kellie. “But they are smart. You have to get them to a point where they feel comfortable, where you empower them, where you push them to do better… I pushed myself to be on this slope, to be here, to get a gold in the World Games.”
At the end of the run, Kellie is greeted by her mom, dad, sister and cousin, who flew to Italy for the World Winter Games. This week, they will see her compete on skis for the first time. Kellie’s brother and dad are also skiers. A gold medalist, Kellie added, “Now, I’m the better skier.” Following the award ceremony, her family took to social media, celebrating Kellie’s win, as an individual with an intellectual disability, as a Black athlete, as a woman, as a champion.
“I’m so happy I’m a woman in sports who is African American,” said Kellie. “I don’t think in many years they had [this many] women in sports that we have today, who are pushing the boundaries, who are pushing the limits and saying, ‘We can do it too.’”
Gold medal in hand, Kellie did it too.