PALMYRA -- For the past nine months, Sophia Parker and her older brother, Jacob, practiced gymnastics routines for more than an hour once a week.

Their hard work paid off, winning each of them several medals in Pennsylvania's Special Olympics 41st Summer Games at Penn State in State College in June.

The event drew more than 2,000 athletes and 700 coaches from around the state. Special Olympics is free to all participants, both children and adults with intellectual disabilities.

Sophia Parker, 11, and her brother, Jacob, 13, are the children of Bill and Deborah Parker of North Londonderry Township. The children have what is known as Fragile X Syndrome, which causes intellectual disabilities. Both are students at Palmyra Area Middle School, and both started preparing for the games last fall.

"It was our first year participating in the games," the children's mother said. "The coaches are good. We practiced over at Paramount Sports Complex (in South Londonderry Township). They've been working really hard with Jacob and Sophia."

Gymnastics is a new sports program for Special Olympics Lebanon County. Joan Sechrist, Lebanon County manager and outreach coordinator for Special Olympics Lebanon County, said it is the first time a county team has participated in the gymnastics events at the Special Olympics.

"We were welcomed into the gymnastics program, which is one of the smaller programs in Special Olympics," Sechrist said. "It was a very big moment for the

Parkers, and we're very proud of them."

Their mother said both Sophia and Jacob had gymnastics routines to perform at the games.

"They did the routines very well. I was pleasantly surprised at how well they did," Parker said. "Our kids were some of the youngest. The nice thing about the Special Olympics is that everyone is there for everyone else. It's a super, super event. Everyone cheers everyone on. It doesn't matter who's better than the next person. It's total acceptance."

Sophia won a gold medal in vaulting in her age group of 8-11; three second-place medals in the balance beam, floor exercise and All Around Female in her age group; and third place in the uneven-bars competition.

Jacob took second-place medals in All Around Male, floor exercise, horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, rings and vaulting in his age group of male 12-15.

Sechrist said 43 county students participated in the games in State College. In addition to the Parkers, the local Special Olympics teams brought home gold, silver and bronze medals and ribbons in softball, golf, tennis, track and field, and bowling.

Sechrist said the local Special Olympics program has 200 athletes in 14 different sports. The teams participate in three of the four state games hosted each year.

"We have grown over the years," she said.

In the last five years, the program has added six sports, she explained, saying she would like to add sports for the students.

"I need coaches" to add sports, she said.

Coaches are asked to give a three-month commitment to the program and must attend a workshop to become certified Special Olympics coaches, Sechrist said.

"All we need is their time and energy," she said.

The programs are not funded and do not receive support from the United Way of Lebanon County, she said.

"We raise all our own money," Sechrist said.

For more information or to volunteer to be a coach, call Sechrist at 272-1332 or visit the Special Olympics website at lebcoso.org.

chrissholly@ldnews.com; 272-5611, ext. 151