Al Roker and Deborah Roberts’ son wins big at NY Special Olympics
By
Social Links for
Julie Gordon
Published
June 18, 2019, 1:17 p.m. ET
Al Roker and Deborah Roberts’ 17-year-old son, Nick Roker, won two gold medals during his first appearance in New York’s Special Olympics over the weekend.
Taking to Instagram to share the news (with expressed permission from Nick), Roker said he is “so proud of my boy” for taking top prize in the 25-yard butterfly and 50-yard freestyle races.
In April, Roker wrote in depth about Nick, who has special needs, in a piece for Guideposts magazine: “He’s somewhere on the spectrum and maybe obsessive-compulsive. But those labels can be frustrating; they don’t begin to describe who Nick really is … Nick is a hard worker; he’s got a great sense of humor; he’s outgoing and a good swimmer; he’s developing a pretty good top-of-the-key basketball shot.”
Also in the first-person essay, Roker said he admires Nick.
On Monday’s episode of the “Today” show, Roker gave props to Nick by showing a video snippet of him competing and saying, “He was booking it, I’m very proud of him.”
He also gave shout-outs to Nick’s coaches at the 92nd Street Y, Jeff Bonaccorso, Kim Weiss and Laura Scherf.
Roberts shared her own photo of Nick giving his dad a kiss after the race, and wrote, “This sweet guy won two (yes two) gold medals at NY state special Olympics. Then gives dad a kiss! ♥️♥️♥️.”
The summer games took place at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie.