Napier man Mark Cullen ends football career on high at Special Olympics summer games

Mark Cullen with mother Sue and father Roger Cullen, celebrating the Hawke's Bay team's silver medal win. Photo / Supplied

Hawke’s Bay’s Special Olympics football team won silver at the Freemasons New Zealand Special Olympics National Summer Games in Hamilton, and Napier athlete Mark Cullen could not have been prouder of his team.

Out of seven teams from across New Zealand, the Hawke’s Bay team made the highly contested final against Otago, who won the final match taking home the gold medal.

Mark loves sports, and his parents, friends, and fellow teammates call him Alfie after his sporting hero, Australian rugby league legend Alfie Langer.

The 55-year-old joined Special Olympics in the early 1980s, initially training and competing in regional competitions in athletics and swimming. The all-around sportsman also plays indoor bowling and tennis.

The Special Olympics is designed for those with intellectual disabilities, much like the Paralympics for athletes with physical disabilities.

The Special Olympics Hawke’s Bay club was established in 1985 and has competed in national, North Island, and regional games over the past 37 years.

Mark Cullen with the rest of the Hawke's Bay Special Olympics team that took home silver at the 2022 summer games. Photo / Supplied

The club provides year-round training and competition in a variety of sports for athletes of all ages with intellectual disabilities to develop their physical fitness and build self-esteem.

Athletes get the opportunity to be compete and set goals, be part of an accepting community, and make like-minded friends.

The club has 110 athletes training in swimming, golf, bocce, ten-pin bowling, and football (soccer).

In 1996, Mark was selected as a member of the New Zealand team to compete in Shanghai at the first Asia-Pacific Games, where he won a gold medal in swimming.

His mother, Sue Cullen, went with him as a support person and says it was “a marvellous experience”.

“His enjoyment, skills, and successes to date have been made possible by the support and time given by his coaches, fellow Special Olympics, friends, sponsors, and the many volunteers associated with Special Olympics,” she said.

“Mark has stayed in touch with friends made at that event and said: “I enjoy being an athlete because I get around the place, which is fantastic.”

He takes great pride in the array of medals and ribbons he has earned throughout his athletic career.

At the medal presentation ceremony in Hamilton, Mark announced he would be retiring from football to focus on swimming competitively.