Dashing, just like his unwavering determination to blow the whistle on stereotypes. Māpua-based Alfie Linn was sharply dressed for a grandeur event at Government House in Wellington on 14 November.
He was honoured for his sports achievements and for being a role model for the Down Syndrome and wider disabled community.
Alfie received the New Zealand Down Syndrome Association (NZDSA) Achievement Award from Governor-General Dame Cindy Kiro and her husband Dr Richard Davis.
The 22-year-old says the occasion which he shared with his mother Jane, older brother Jacob and his supporter Sal Randall at the “lovely house” was “very exciting” and he was both “Nelson and New Zealand proud”.
Although he has Down Syndrome, low muscle tone, a heart defect, a hearing impairment and autism spectrum disorder (ASD), Alfie has fought to overcome people’s negative attitudes and low expectations of the disabled.
He has found inclusion and a sense of belonging in most of his sports, which include cricket, basketball, swimming, lawn bowls and, most notably, table tennis. He’s served up bronze and silver medals in the sport at national tournaments and the Virtus Global Games in France last year, the only New Zealand medals garnered at that event.
Alfie was honoured to wear the Silver Fern and he was also chosen as the closing ceremony’s flag bearer. His other major achievements in 2023 were the New Zealand Para Table Tennis’ Most Valuable Player and he was also voted Table Tennis Nelson’s Player of the Year.
Alfie’s supporter Sal Randall says his ability to challenge himself and reap the awards was a shining light for the Down Syndrome and other disabled communities.
“When you go to a mainstream sporting facility with your young person, people see the disability first and think ‘I don’t know how he’s going to go’, but there are a lot of barriers he smashes down all the time, which is great.”
Alfie will now set his sights on a gold medal at the next Virtus Global Games, which will be held in Egypt in 2027.
