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Show U.S. Ski Team member is honored for her devotion to the mentally retarded a member of the United States Ski I Team has taken home an award that I is different from the gold for which she usually competes. 1 Patty Ross of Cornwall, Vt,, was I named Outstanding Athlete ;6f the I Year by the International Special I Olympics at a luncheon in Chicago I recently. . J The award is part of a group of I honors known as Awards for I Distinguished Service to the Mental- I ly Retarded Through Sports. It I honors an athlete who best demonstrates devotion to the meri- I tally retarded, concern for improv- I ing Special Olympics sports skills and support for a Special Olympics I organization. I Ross, 26, is a member of the U.S. I women's B cross-country team. She I was nordic director of skiing for the I Vermont chapter of Special Olym- I pics. She also conducted clinics for I the Special Olympians of Vermont J y s I f Patty Ross joins Billy Kidd as a winner of the Special Olympics' award. and helped to instruct their coaches. She was present as an athletecelebrity at the International Interna-tional Winter Special Olympics Games held in Park City last March. . The annual award is selected by a committe established by Special Olympics, Inc. chairman Eunice Kennedy-Shriver. Other nominees for this year's award included Philadelphia 76er Julius Erving and Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls. Previous winners include Rafer Johnson, Bruce Jenner; Lyle Alzado and former U.S. Ski Team member Billy Kidd. "This award really symbolizes the work and spirit that Patty brought to the program," said Walter Malm-quist, Malm-quist, director of winter sports for Special Olympics. "She made a dramatic commitment to help out Special Olympics." Ross waged her own personal battle bat-tle last season with an upper-respiratory upper-respiratory problem that prevented her from competing at the international interna-tional level after she was named to the team. The year before, she represented the United States in the Olympic Winter Games in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia. "When she found out she would not be able to compete, she turned her efforts and energy to helping with our atheletes," Malmquist said. "I don't think Patty would ever look at the down side of anything." "We are all extremelyproud of Patty's efforts with Special Olympics," Olym-pics," said Alan B. Ross, executive director of the ski team. "This really honors an athlete with a tremendous amount of character and dedication toothers." Ross is in training and looks forward for-ward to competing this season. |