- July 22, 2025
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Lakewood Ranch resident Jeremy Thompson was born with Down syndrome, but that hasn’t stopped him from believing he can achieve just about anything.
Sometimes that hasn’t worked in his favor, like when he turned 16 years old and backed the family car into a tree trying to drive by himself for the first time.
Other times, it’s resulted in lifelong memories of success, such as his two trips to the Special Olympics USA Games.
On May 16, Thompson, who is now 36, won a bronze medal in bocce at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in the Special Olympics Florida Summer Games with his mother, Holly Thompson, coaching him.
“My son has never had problems with confidence,” Holly Thompson said. “He’s felt that he can do anything, partly because we always told him that he could.”
Holly Thompson enrolled Jeremy in Special Olympics when he was 8 years old, and it’s been one of her best decisions.
He’s competed in track and field, bowling, basketball, golf, bocce, corn hole, and even alpine skiing.
After moving to the Lakewood Ranch area from Kentucky in 2022, the Thompsons helped establish training in alpine skiing for local Special Olympic athletes.
One of Jeremy’s favorite sports has been golf, and for good reason. He’s won a gold medal at the state level of competition, which allowed him to advance to the USA Games.
Although he also advanced to the USA Games in track and field, Jeremy, a self-described competitor, said that’s his least favorite sport.
“I place second, third or fourth, and I hate that,” he said.
Jeremy’s time in Special Olympics means more to the Thompsons than the wall of medals they display in their family home.
As part of a military family, Jeremy has moved from Alaska to Ohio to Kentucky and now Florida. Each transition he’s gone through, he’s made lifelong friends through Special Olympics.
When he bowls on Wednesday afternoons, Jeremy will FaceTime his bowling friends from Kentucky so they can still enjoy the time together.
It’s also given him the skills to hold a job. He’s a member of the Special Olympics Athlete Leadership Council and he helps with fundraising opportunities. He has raised his skills in interacting with people.
If not for the Special Olympics, Holly said she fears Jeremy might have spent much of his time behind a screen, unable to learn quality life skills and to make meaningful relationships.
“He has these lifelong friendships,” Holly Thompson said. “He goes to the movies, he has parties he goes to. All of the things you want for your children growing up, he now has.”
Though Jeremy has already won medals and found his community, there still remains goals for him to reach.
He dreams of making it to the Special Olympics World Games. The next World Games will be held in 2027 in Santiago, Chile.
Even if Jeremy doesn’t achieve that goal, however, one of the lessons he’s learned along the way is that the Special Olympics is about more than just winning medals.
“My mom has taught me to do my best, but it’s OK if I don’t win,” he said.
