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Chilliwack powerlifter takes on the world

Chilliwack's Joanne Bunnin will travel to Los Angeles next year for the massive 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
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Chilliwack's Joanne Bunnin took top spot in her event at July's Special Olympics Canada Summer Games.

Special Olympics Canada announced on Wednesday the roster for the national team that will head to the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles, California.

A Chilliwack native has made the grade.

Power-lifter Joanne Bunnin qualified after winning three gold medals at the Special Olympics Canada 2014 Summer Games in Vancouver.

Those games happened in July.

Bunnin placed first in the female combination event (bench and dead-lift) with a score of 167.50.

BC is providing 57 athletes and 16 coaches for the national team, hailing from 19 Special Olympics BC Locals.

In total, Team Canada consists of 115 athletes, 32 coaches, 11 mission staff, three team managers and one Chef de Mission.

Eighty five of the athletes will be competing in their first World Games.

They range in age from 14 to 68 years old.

The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games will feature 7,000 athletes and 3,000 coaches from over 177 countries, alongside an incredible 30,000 volunteers.

Athletes will compete in 26 different sports over nine days at venues throughout Los Angeles, including the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

The 2015 World Summer Games will be the largest event held in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Summer Games.

Get more info online at specialolympics.ca



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