Brian Perry places 5th in Special Olmypic Berlin for swimming

DELMARVA- Beloved DSU worker and Special Olympics USA athlete Brian Perry wrapped up his debut at the Special Olympic Games in Berlin Friday.

Perry swam the 50-meter Freestyle, with his times qualifying him for the Olympic Final, also known as the championship heat.

With Brian finishing 5th in the Championship Heat/Olympic Finals he is ranked 5th in the World in 50-meter Freestyle.

“It’s been exhilarating for us as parents and exhausting, but Brian has just absolutely outshined himself here. You might not have won the silver or the gold, but he’s done a superior job. So that gives this place medal,” said Brian’s mother Christine Perry.

Brian tells us he was tired but very happy with his performance, saying “I’m very glad, and I got the eye of the tiger.”

Brian’s Coach Marcus Johnson said he watched the live stream of Brian hitting the water in Germany and was able to spot all the techniques they worked in his form.

“We work off of a taper, really hard training, and then we scale back so the actual race is less intense than the training and so he was in that taper, and you saw him break some personal records,” Johnson said adding “he had an in-water start which can be tough, it is slower than off the board but despite that, he had a really strong start.”

He tells us he was thrilled to see Brian shatter those personal records, and earn his place among top-notch competitors.

“That’s one thing we worked on as well as when you see the wall, in the water when that wall is coming to, you see that cross is getting closer and closer to pick your kick up and go for it And that’s what he did,” Marcus said.

He tells us Brians’s ultimate goal is to bring home a medal in the next games, held in Canada in 2025.