Jennifer Romero of Cortez is the golden girl right now.

She captured the gold medal in the 200-meter snowshoeing dash at the recently-held 2001 Special Olympics Winter World Games in Anchorage, Alaska.

According to her coaches and parents, Jim and Maxine Carton, Romero followed their advice. She paced herself during the first 100 to 150 meters. She was in second and slipped into third and then worked herself back by pouring it on for her dash to the finish line. She won the gold medal in the event with a time 15 seconds faster than her nearest competitor.

Romero, a member of the Cortez Chili Peppers Snowshoeing team, competed at the Games March 4-11. Romero, 18, represented Cortez. She has been a consistent winner at the State Winter Games held at Copper Mountain. She won medals last year and this past year as well.

"This was a big thing for her to go and do on her own," Maxine Carton commented. "We are so proud of her because a lot of things have been happening in her life. She wanted to do this and to do a good job."

Romero is the first Cortez resident to attend the Games, let alone win a medal. Cortez Special Olympics teammate Eric Garcia participated in the Pre-World Games the year before. Besides Romero and Garcia, the Cartons coach Jacob Milligan, Joseph Casarez, and Lara Gatewood.

More than 2,750 athletes from 80 countries participated during the week of events. Colorado, with 19 athletes, was the third largest contingent of Team USA. It was the largest international sporting event in Alaska history. There were approximately 7,000 officials, family members, coaches, and dignitaries from around the world attending. There were cultural performances and displays.

The team gathered from all over the state and met on March 2 for a final meeting. They were introduced to Mark Scherer (no. 69) of the Denver Broncos. He was selected as honorary captain. Scherer is a native of Anchorage. He led the team into the arena at the opening ceremonies.

The Winter Games had seven different venues. The athletes competed in alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, figure skating, floor hockey, snowboarding, snowshoeing, and speed skating. Events were held in Anchorage and at Eagle River and Girdwood (Alyeska Resort). Two venues were made just for these games. A chalet was built at the top of Hilltop Ski Area where snowboard was held. Another was Kincaid Park where snowshoeing and cross-country skiing events were held. The Convention Center in downtown Anchorage became the Olympic Village. Elmendorf Air Force Base provided housing for the athletes of Team USA, Team Canada, and few others. The Alaska Railroad used its facilities as a regional transportation center to ensure athletes from all nations got to the places they needed to go.