Westmont Men Win Gold, Bronze At Illinois Special Olympics

WOODRIDGE, IL — Two Westmont athletes took home medals at the Illinois Special Olympics this year. William Porch won gold and silver medals and Michael Duffy won a bronze medal at the competition, which was held in Galena.

Porch won gold in the 800 meter snowshoeing event and silver in the 1600 meter snowshoeing event. Porch was a former four-time gold medalist in cross country skiing between 2013 and 2017. The cross country skiing event has since been discontinued, so Porch perfected his snowshoeing.

Westmont native Michael Duffy won bronze in the downhill Alpine skiing Super G event this year, an event he won a gold medal in 2017. Duffy also placed fourth in the giant slalom event.

A Woodridge man won his second career medal when he landed a bronze medal in snowshoeing. A multi-sport athlete, Michael Drabik won gold in cross country skiing in 2017 before mastering the art of snowshoeing for this year's competition.

More than 450 athletes competed in this year's Illinois Special Olympics in Galena Feb. 6 through Feb. 8, according to a news release from SEASPAR.

>>Image credit: William Porch with medals, via SEASPAR