Enfield man’s gold-medal winning success celebrated

Barry Churchill with his Special Olympics medals

The recent 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games left us inspired, with Team GB doing us proud in Milan and Cortina.

Less well known is the Special Olympics, a global movement providing year-round sports training and athletic competition for children and adults with learning disabilities. And, incredibly, we have our own Special Olympics gold medallist right here in Enfield!

Empowering Disability in Enfield (EDIE), LocalMotion Enfield’s lived experience working group, discovered that one member, Barry Churchill, had competed at the Special Olympics National Games in the 1990s, winning three gold medals and one bronze in table tennis at a single event.

The Special Olympics was founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and the movement promotes inclusion, dignity, and respect through the power of sport. Structured like other elite sporting events, athletes compete in local, national, and international games.

The Special Olympics is built on the belief that people with learning disabilities succeed when given the opportunity, encouragement, and support.

Barry’s medals are a proof of this belief. His success had not widely known until recently. As EDIE is committed to shining a light on the achievements of disabled people in Enfield, we need your help. If you have any information about the games that Barry competed in, please get in touch. Or, if you have your own success story, EDIE wants to hear from you.

Barry’s achievement reminds us that greatness can be in our community without us knowing!

Get in touch with EDIE:
Email [email protected]

This article is published with support from LocalMotion Enfield, part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change

LocalMotion Enfield is part of a UK-wide movement for community-led change – we're proud to partner with Enfield Dispatch to share local voices and stories

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