Community Corner

Arlington Woman Heads to Special Olympics World Winter Games

Andrea Molfetto, 36, will be a coach for the alpine skiing team.

An Arlington woman is heading to the Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea this week as a coach for the alpine skiing team.

“I’m just beside myself that I was selected to go on this journey with them… It’s pretty surreal,” said Andrea Molfetto, 36.

Molfetto said she has been skiing for as long as she can remember and started coaching the Northern Virginia Special Olympics team about four years ago.

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“They are amazing people and amazing athletes,” Molfetto said. “The one benefit that I find with Special Olympics is that they really want to be there and work hard. When they are so motivated it makes your job as a coach easier.”

The Winter Games will be from Jan. 29 to Feb. 5 in PyeongChang, South Korea. The near-150 athletes and 60 coaches representing Team USA come from all over this country. The athletes Molfetto was assigned for the duration of the games happen to live on the West Coast.

Find out what's happening in Arlingtonwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“I’ve been communicating via email and phone for the last couple of months. It’s worked well, surprisingly,” Molfetto said. 

Molfetto travels to South Korea on Friday. While the team is overseas and not on the slopes, they will meet with the American ambassador to South Korea and will go to a local school to talk about the Special Olympics program.

“The whole experience is new to me, so I’m looking forward to everything and being along on this journey with athletes and members,” Molfetto said. “I’m looking forward to seeing how they perform on this level.”

Want to get articles on Arlington County delivered to your inbox? Sign up for the daily Arlington Patch newsletter.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here