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Photography by Walter Templeman.
“Go, Vlad!” is the chant echoing around the AV Sprint track and field in Breda, Netherlands. That’s the sound of Vlad Bezgenov’s parents cheering on their son – who competes in the 100m, 200m and shot put – at the Special Olympics Netherlands 2024 National Games. His mother Natalia is grateful every day that her 14-year-old son can develop so well in the Netherlands.
Vlad, who has AutismI don’t feel like talking much today. He is focused on competing in this big competition, which is a great experience because he has only been involved in athletics for one year. Moreover, his attention is absorbed by all the activity around him. “He is learning a little Dutch at school, but it is difficult for him,” says his mother Natalia, who speaks Dutch well due to intensive language lessons. Two years ago, she left Berdyansk, a coastal city on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine, with her husband, daughter, and son, Vlad. “My heart cries when I think about it…but I’m also happy that we’re here.”
“He wanted to keep running!”
Her happiness is also a result of Vlad’s prosperity in Holland. In Hoogeveen, where the family now lives, Vlad attends private secondary education in De Windros and participates in athletics at HAC’63. “A year ago, he had a sports day at the track and field with his school,” his mother says. “He loved it so much he wanted to keep running!”
Thus, he ended up in the Athlete Group A (A for Modified) at HAC’63, where Evelyn Boocknegt serves as one of the coaches. “At first it was of course very difficult, also because of the language barrier. But now he copes very well. He always greets me with ‘Hello Evelyn’ and says ‘Thank you Evelyn’. He is very polite and enthusiastic. If things don’t go his way, he “He gets angry sometimes, but it gets better too.”
Photography by Walter Templeman.
Double the training, double the fun!
For some time, every Tuesday, Vlad trained in the athletics club. Recently, he also started training on Thursday. The coach of the regular middle-distance running training group noticed some talent in Vlad and inquired about the young runner. “Since then, he’s also been training with that group on Thursdays as well,” Boocknegt says. “It’s very nice to see how other athletes involve him. It will take some time to get used to Vlad, because he might get a little less attention than he gets on Tuesday evening, but it’s nice to see how he reacts to the greetings from these athletes, for example. When They see him training with me on Tuesday, they welcome him and encourage him and then you see him beaming!
After Vlad’s first race in Hoogeveen, Evelyn received a text message from Natalia. “You never thought it would be possible for Vlad to participate in a sports competition.” Natalia hopes that they can stay in Holland, because Vlad has fully blossomed.
As the day comes to an end, Vlad wants to say something. He says he picks up his phone and shows a picture of a ‘jeep’. “From the police.” On his phone is a picture of a Lego police jeep. Vlad points at it and laughs with joy. He will turn 15 on August 13. Judging by the sparkle in his eye, it’s very likely that he’ll find a LEGO police jeep among his gifts when he wakes up that morning!
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