Debbie Ogden, Coach
Ogden, who lives in Ft. Wright and coaches the Northern Kentucky Dolphins, will serve as the Team Kentucky swimming coach for the second consecutive USA Games. Ogden’s swimmers combined for nine medals at the 2018 Games in Seattle, Wash. She has been a Special Olympics coach for 15 years but has been working with individuals with intellectual disabilities for nearly 35 years. In addition to Special Olympics coaching, Ogden has also coached the Ludlow/Bromley swim and dive team, the St. Agnes School track and field team and the St. Agnes School fifth grade volleyball team in Fort Wright. She is the Senior Executive Assistant in the Development Department at Children’s Hospital in Cincinnati.
Maddie Brinkman
Brinkman, 22, of Union has been a Special Olympics athlete for five years, competing in swimming for that entire time. She is a member of the Northern Kentucky Dolphins swim team and is making her first ever USA Games trip. She works at Panera Bread in Union.
Justin Hale
Hale, 19, of Crestwood will be making his second consecutive trip to the USA Games. He also competed in swimming at the 2018 Games in Seattle, Wash., earning a gold medal in the 100-meter freestyle and a silver in the 50-meter backstroke. He has been a Special Olympics swimmer for nine years. Like Derringer, Hale is a graduate of the Special Olympics Kentucky Athlete Leadership Program. He graduated from high school in May and is currently taking classes at Jefferson Community and Technical College. Hale also works as a lifeguard at the YMCA.
Megan McCormick
McCormick, 33, of Lexington will be making her third USA Games appearance, having swam at the 2010 and 2018 Games. In 2010 she claimed a silver medal in the 100-meter butterfly. In Seattle in 2018 she again won silver in the 100 butterfly and added a second silver medal in the 100-meter freestyle as well as a bronze in the 4×50-meter medley relay. McCormick has also appeared twice in the World Summer Games. In 2003 in Dublin, Ireland, she competed in artistic gymnastics and won five medals, including two golds and two silvers. She was part of the Special Olympics USA swimming delegation at the 2007 World Summer Games in Shanghai, China, garnering one silver and one bronze medal. She has been a Special Olympics athlete for 24 years and has competed in cheerleading in addition to swimming and gymnastics. Away from sports, McCormick is a trained Special Olympics Global Messenger and regularly speaks on behalf of Special Olympics, as well as the Down Syndrome Association of Central Kentucky. She is an accomplished pianist and also works as a classroom assistant in Fayette County Public Schools.
Austin Stine
Stine, 31, of Louisville has been a Special Olympics athlete for 19 years and has competed in swimming for 15. He has also competed in bowling and ice skating as part of the program. This will also be his first trip to the USA Games. He works at Dreams With Wings.