Joey Barncord, 15, finished in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord is from West Palm Beach, Fla. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord, 15, finished in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., just picked up his credential and hat. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord (right), 15, finished in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., receives congratulations from his coach, Bill Behnke, 56, from Naples, Fla. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord (center), 15, competes in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., ran against Nicholas McDermott (left) and Charles Phillips. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord (right), 15, looks back after the finish in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., ran against Nicholas McDermott (43) and Charles Phillips (297). (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord, 15, competes in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord is from West Palm Beach, Fla. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics athlete Joey Barncord is surprised by his mother, Linda Barncord, outside Cather Hall on the UNL campus Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord's employer paid for her to fly to see Joey compete as a runner for the Florida team. (ERIN DUERR / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics athlete Joey Barncord (right), 15, visits with his mother, Linda Barncord, and brother Billy Barncord outside Cather Hall on the UNL campus Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Linda Barncord flew from Florida on Tuesday to surprise her son as he competes in the Special Olympics. (ERIN DUERR / Lincoln Journal Star)
They looked like five ants rounding the corner at Ed Weir
Stadium.
"Here he comes," Don Lieberman said as a boy in a white jersey,
red shorts and black Nikes came into focus.
"Run Joey! Run! Run Joey! Run!" his mom Linda yelled repeatedly
as Joey Barncord hit the straightaway during his 200-meter run
Wednesday afternoon at the 2010 Special Olympics National
Games.
If there'd been room, she would have run alongside her son on
the other side of the fence, like she did in Orlando during
Florida's state Special Olympic games.
Instead, she started to make motions with her arms reminiscent
of a downhill skier.
Then, a 7.3-magnitude earthquake ruptured downtown Lincoln.
Or so it seemed when watching the video Don Lieberman filmed on
his digital camera of his grandson running his race.
At about the 20-second mark, he abandoned cinematography and
started whipping his hat up and down.
A noticeable chunk of the race footage suffered, but Lieberman
rebounded to film the home stretch and the photo finish.
Joey, 15, finished fourth by a mere two-tenths of a second.
Right after his race, he was whisked off to the Cook Pavilion for
the medal ceremony where his fan section, now seven strong,
gathered around him to get his postrace thoughts.
"His first question," Lieberman said, "was, ‘Where did I come
in?'"
Joey was sitting next to Charles Phillips, from Pennsylvania, at
the time he asked. Phillips was the runner who finished the 200 in
49.03 seconds to Barncord's 49.05. When he learned the results,
Joey turned to Phillips.
"You see what happened?" Lieberman said. "He just congratulated
the guy who beat him by a foot."
Joey Barncord, 15, finished in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord is from West Palm Beach, Fla. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord, 15, finished in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., just picked up his credential and hat. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord (right), 15, finished in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., receives congratulations from his coach, Bill Behnke, 56, from Naples, Fla. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord (center), 15, competes in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., ran against Nicholas McDermott (left) and Charles Phillips. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord (right), 15, looks back after the finish in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord, from West Palm Beach, Fla., ran against Nicholas McDermott (43) and Charles Phillips (297). (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Joey Barncord, 15, competes in the 100 meter heat during the 2010 National Special Olympics at Ed Weir Stadium on Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord is from West Palm Beach, Fla. (BRUCE THORSON / for the Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics athlete Joey Barncord is surprised by his mother, Linda Barncord, outside Cather Hall on the UNL campus Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Barncord's employer paid for her to fly to see Joey compete as a runner for the Florida team. (ERIN DUERR / Lincoln Journal Star)
Special Olympics athlete Joey Barncord (right), 15, visits with his mother, Linda Barncord, and brother Billy Barncord outside Cather Hall on the UNL campus Tuesday, July 20, 2010. Linda Barncord flew from Florida on Tuesday to surprise her son as he competes in the Special Olympics. (ERIN DUERR / Lincoln Journal Star)
