Countywide : Olympian Appears on Right Track

Eight-year-old Craig Lendino loves running with an older crowd, especially the girls track team at Santa Margarita High School.

Wearing white shorts and the school’s physical education shirt, he has been training with the team for Orange County’s 23rd annual Special Olympics track and field competition scheduled for Saturday.

Craig has Down’s syndrome, and although he cannot say how much he loves to run, his mother, Carol, said the boy’s enthusiasm is obvious.

“He just expresses it by being excited when he knows he’s going to run. When he knows he’s going running with the girls’ track and field team, he just grins,” Carol Lendino said. “He shows his expressions through his face and actions. What guy wouldn’t want to run with these gorgeous 16-year-old girls? He’s a typical male.”

Craig will be one of about 700 youngsters competing in such events as foot and wheelchair races, the high jump and softball throw, starting at 9 a.m. Saturday at Western High School in Anaheim.

He has been training at the high school track for a month with his mother and the team, for an hour three times a week, and practices half-mile runs and shorter sprints. Craig has been a competitive runner since he was 3 and has “never lost a race,” Carol Lendino said. “He loves competition. He kind of thrives on it.”

Nikki Votroubek, 18, a co-captain of the Santa Margarita High School girl’s track team, said Craig is an inspiration to team members.

“He’s great,” she said. “He’s a little kid and he just goes out there and never stops. He has so much determination. He’s always smiling and giving us five when we’re done.”

Carol Lendino said encouragement from the girls spurs Craig on.

“There were times when he was training when the girls would stand on the sidelines and clap,” Carol Lendino said. “When he’s competing, he will run faster when he hears the screams of crowds.”

Carol Lendino said the best part of the Special Olympics is “seeing the excitement in his face. That does it for me. Seeing him win at the very end and how excited he is just makes me happy.

“Plus,” she added, “I’ve lost 20 pounds since I started training with him.”