Aurora resident Chris McElroy, second from right, poses with the gold medal he won in the 100 yard freestyle at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games on July 27, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Colorado)

LOS ANGELES | An Aurora athlete claimed a gold medal Monday at the Special Olympics World Games, as swimmer Chris McElroy won his heat of the 100 meter freestyle.

Aurora resident Chris McElroy, second from right, poses with the gold medal he won in the 100 yard freestyle at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games on July 27, 2015, in Los Angeles. (Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Colorado)
Aurora resident Chris McElroy, second from right, poses with the gold medal he won in the 100 yard freestyle at the 2015 Special Olympics World Games on July 27, 2015, in Los Angeles. At left, sister Melissa McElroy, second from left, girlfriend Heather Miller and mom Lourdes McElroy, right. (Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Colorado)

The 27-year-old McElroy, a city resident and 2006 graduate of Smoky Hill High School, swam a time of 1 minute, 39.39 seconds to win gold as part of his first major competition outside of Colorado according to Special Olympics Colorado.

Swimming at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on the campus of the University of Southern California — where all of the World Games aquatic events are housed — McElroy improved his time by more than three seconds from the time of 1:42.81 he posted in preliminaries on Sunday.

McElroy still has two events left, as he will swim in Thursday’s 50 meter freestyle and Saturday in the 4×50 meter relay.

Colorado has four athletes competing at the Special Olympics World Games in McElroy, tennis players Julian Hall of Denver and Nathan Knepper of Golden and powerlifter Nikia Davenport of Denver.

McElroy is a veteran of more than a decade of Special Olympics competition, having taken part in basketball, bowling, flag football and golf in addition to swimming.

Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor of the Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or sports@aurorasentinel.com. Twitter: @aurorasports. FB: Aurora Prep Sentinel

Courtney Oakes is Sports Editor and photographer with Sentinel Colorado. A Denver East High School and University of Colorado alum. He came to the Sentinel in 2001 and since then has received a number...

One reply on “Aurora’s Chris McElroy wins a gold medal at Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles”

  1. Way to compete and bear down through the last 50, Chris! Prayers & best wishes for your remaining events!

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