Kauai athletes help Hawaii Special Olympics team win gold in Minneapolis

Kauai’s Johnathan Anderson and Bradley McDermott-Sa struck gold in unified doubles bowling, giving Hui O Hawaii one of its most local victories at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis. Anderson, listed by Special Olympics as a 41-year-old Unified Partner from Kapaa, and McDermott-Sa joined a Hawaii delegation that turned a national stage into a showcase for island athletes.

By the end of competition June 26, Hui O Hawaii had finished with four gold medals and one bronze. The team’s haul included the Kauai bowling gold, a team gold in traditional 5-on-5 basketball, a bronze in the 100-meter run, and additional finishes in track and field and bowling. The Hawaii delegation included athletes from Oahu, Kauai, Maui and Hawaii Island, along with two Unified Partners and coaches.

The Games ran June 20-26 in Minnesota and brought together 3,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and an expected 75,000 fans from all 50 states. Special Olympics said the event featured 16 sports and 52 delegations, making the bowling podium a national achievement rather than a local meet result. Unified doubles was part of the bowling competition structure, placing Anderson and McDermott-Sa inside one of the Games’ most visible formats.

Special Olympics describes its year-round mission as sports training and athletic competition for people with intellectual disabilities, and says the USA Games are intended to spark change through inclusion. For Kauai, the result matters because it ties an island roster directly to that national platform. Anderson’s hometown is Kapaa, and the medal gives local athletes with intellectual disabilities a result that reaches far beyond island lines.

The Hawaii program’s presence at the Games also underscores the depth of the state’s Special Olympics network, which connects athletes, Unified Partners and coaches across multiple islands. With Kauai athletes on the podium in Minneapolis, the state’s medal count became more than a tally. It became proof that island-based programs can produce national results and keep widening the path for future Kauai athletes to compete, represent their communities and return home with a place in the record books.