Local Special Olympians earn gold, bronze medals in winter games

Two suburban athletes will return from the Special Olympics World Winter Games having earned gold and bronze medals.

Steve McVoy, 37, of Arlington Heights, and Lisa Menichino, 47, of Bartlett, were two of 3,000 Special Olympians from 110 countries competing in the Alpine regions of Austria. Menichino took first place Wednesday in the Cross-country 4X1K relay freestyle, and McVoy took third place Tuesday in the Alpine advanced giant slalom.

This year's winter games were the first for Menichino, who also competed in a 1k race freestyle.

Although McVoy had never traveled to Austria, the trip marked his second time participating in the winter games. He was invited in 2005 to compete in Nagano, Japan, where he earned a silver and bronze medal.

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