Going for Olympic gold.

Byline: Karen McCowan The Register-Guard

Devin Ackley isn't exactly used to envious reactions from others.

So the 39-year-old Springfield man is relishing all the wistful comments about his upcoming trip to China to swim in the Special Olympics World Games that begin Tuesday.

Ackley's blue eyes light up beneath his graying crew cut as he recalls the reaction of a longtime manager at the Springfield Dari-Mart store where he stocks shelves and sweeps the parking lot.

"He was proud, and he said he wished he could go with me," he said. "That's what they're all saying. They say, `Can I go along in your suitcase?' '

Ackley won a spot on Team USA by winning a gold medal in the 2006 Special Olympics Oregon competition.

Special Olympics is a nonprofit, donation-supported organization founded in 1968 to provide year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Under its rules, athletes compete by heat against others of similar ability. Ackley won his 25-meter free-style with a time of 22.93 seconds. He was then selected by lottery from among all Oregon gold medal swimmers to travel to the World Games, said Mark Henken, the Oregon affiliate's senior vice president of sports.

"Some people think we only send our elite athletes," Henken said. "In reality, we send a cross-section of winners from various ability levels."

The 7,500 athletes coming to Shanghai will similarly reflect "a full range of ability levels," he said.

As a 2006 state gold medal winner, Ackley also represented Oregon at the U.S. National Games in Ames, Iowa, last summer. He brought home two gold medals, winning his 25-meter backstroke heat with a time of 38.37 seconds and his 25-meter freestyle heat with a time of 23.16 seconds.

He will compete in both of those events at the World Games, as well as joining other U.S. swimmers on a 100-meter relay team.

Ackley's mother, Ruth, of Cottage Grove, predicted that her son has quite an adventure in store.

"Even the opening ceremony at the Nationals was a real tear-jerker," she said, describing a torch-led procession of athletes carrying their state flags, a speech by Nelson Mandela, and a musical performance by Bono. "They only have the World Games every four years, so I can't imagine what that ceremony will be like. It's a huge deal."

She got a little teary herself as she reflected on how far her son has come since seizures beginning in infancy caused developmental disabilities.

"It's very emotional - we're really proud of him," she said.

So is Becky Venice, volunteer coordinator of the Special Olympics program in Cottage Grove, where Devin Ackley began swimming at age 8.

"Devin has always been a great guy who's been very successful in his life," she said. "Some people say those with developmental disability can't make it in the world, but he's accomplished a lot. I'm so happy for him."

Both Ackley and his longtime partner Kerri Fowler have been active in adult Special Olympics for decades. Together, the couple ticked off a list of sports they've played together or separately: basketball, bowling, softball and bocce ball, as well as swimming.

"And track and field," Devin added. "I do the 100 meters, the shot put, the relay, and I used to do the mile run."

"Special Olympics has just been great for both of them," Ruth Ackley said.

Besides providing fitness opportunities, the organization has also been an important social support system for the couple.

"The praise these athletes give each individual as they succeed is just out of this world," said Shauna Remior, who coaches Devin and other Special Olympics swimmers at Springfield's Willamalane pool. She recalled the outburst of spontaneous applause from his teammates that greeted Devin when he walked out of the dressing room and onto the pool deck for the first time after winning his Gold Medals in Ames.

"They really look up to him," Remior said.

She recently gave Devin some last-minute pointers at his final local practice session before departing for Shanghai on Tuesday.

"Just like you're in a race, OK?" she instructed as he faced the wall and prepared to launch himself into the backstroke. "Ready? Set? Go!"

He pushed off with his legs and began churning through the water. When he completed the up-and-back lap that will compose his race, she urged him on.

`Keep going!' she shouted, then explained that she has him routinely practice four lengths to improve his time in the shorter, actual race. "Almost there! Right on! You did a good job."

Remior, a former Willamette High School swimmer, said she's had to tailor her coaching to Devin's unique abilities. She tried, for example, to help him cut his backstroke time by using overhead flags to gauge his progress in the lane, rather than pausing briefly to actually eyeball the wall.

"But he wasn't able to do that, and kept hitting the wall with his head," she said.

Devin's strong suit is the freestyle, she added.

"He's got great power in his arms, and he can really, really move in the water."

Devin said he has three goals for his trip to Shanghai: "To beat my time, to try to do the best I can, and to meet the people from different countries."

Gary Ackley expects his son to have a great experience, no matter what his time.

"When we got to the swimming pool at the Nationals in Ames, another race was just finishing, and the fans were clapping in unison to encourage the last-place swimmer the same way University of Oregon track fans clap for someone about to set a record," he said. "When that kid finished, a half-lap behind everyone else, he raised his arms like he just got first place."

DEVIN ACKLEY

Claim to fame: Swimming in the Special Olympics World Games in Shanghai, China

Education: Sheldon High School Life Skills Program

Family: Partner Kerri Fowler; parents Ken and Ruth Ackley of Cottage Grove; sister Michelle James of Tualatin

Favorite song: "Friends in Low Places" by Garth Brooks

Favorite meal : George Foreman-grilled chicken

Swimming role model: Three-time Olympian Tracy Caulkins, whose records were displayed in Nashville, where Ackley recently trained with other members of Team USA Aquatics

More information : www.soor.org