Mark Setzer of Salisbury, who resides at the Baddour Center in Senatobia, Miss., has returned to Mississippi after participating as a golfer in the 2014 Special Olympics USA Games held in southern New Jersey.
All of the athletes are young people with intellectual disabilities, but they have a great love for sports and participate as well as they can through the Special Olympics organization.
Mark is the son of Barbara and David Setzer of Salisbury.
Mark Setzer and three other golfers from the Baddour Center were assigned to Division 3 of Tennessee for their tournament play. Mark plays at Level Four and competed in three rounds of nine holes each. He scored 57 on his first round, 63 on this second and 67 on this third, coming in at third place and winning a bronze medal.
The golf competition was held at Mercer Oaks courses near Princeton, N.J.. The athletes were housed on the campuses of Rider University and the College of New Jersey and were transported to New Jersey via the Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift which is conducted every four years, when Citation owners and operators across the country help transport athletes and coaches to the games.
It has been called the largest peacetime airlift in the world. Setzer was carried to the games on a Cessna Citation out of Memphis, which is near his residence in Senatobia. The 2014 games were the largest national games ever undertaken in the United States and included 16 different sports competitions at 10 different locations.
The games, held June 16-20, were sponsored by a host of national corporations including KPMG, Prudential Insurance, 21st Century Fox, ShopRite, Hess and others. Their support with others provided a full array of transportation, sports clothing, food and housing for more 3,500 athletes, 1,000 coaches and 10,000 volunteers for the 2014 games.