Jennifer Romero, an athlete with the Cortez Special Olympics, has been chosen as a member of the Colorado World Winter Games team and will compete in the Special Olympics 2001 World Winter Games in Anchorage, March 4-11.

She will join 19 other athletes and seven coaches comprising Team USA-Colorado and will travel to Alaska, joining more than 2,000 athletes from 80 different countries for the games. This year’s Colorado delegation to the Team USA were chosen at the end of last year’s winter sports season based on athletic accomplishments. Team USA-Colorado will have the largest delegation of snowshoers competing in the Special Olympics World Winter Games. Romero is a snowshoer.

Romero has been busy training individually for the past several months. She joined several other members of her team Jan. 20 at Copper Mountain Resort. It was the first they had trained together.

The events at the winter games will be apline skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and speed skating. The seventh Special Olympics World Winter Games will be the largest international sporting ever to be staged in Alaska and the first large-scale event held in the state in the new Millennium.

"The training at Copper Mountain was to provide Team USA-Colorado with the cohesiveness they’ll need at the World Winter Games," Scott Weaver, vice president and Colorado Special Olympics coach. "It gave them a chance to get to know each other and create team spirit."

Team USA head coach for Snowshoeing is Anne Talbot of Durango and she is assisted by Michelle Brumagim of Greeley. Joining Romero on the snowshoeing team is Amy Burgemeister of Parker, Jackie Greene of Fort Collins, Kristi Koger of Hudson, George Dyer of Wheat Ridge, Danny Fick of Broomfield, James Kennedy of Bailey, and Steven Ruth of Durango.

The training will also help them prepare for the Special Olympics Colorado 2001 Winter Games, Feb. 25-27, at Copper Mountain Resort. This is a mandatory competition for all athletes traveling to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Alaska.