For Special Olympics Great Britain figure skater Stephanie Gott, the World Winter Games Turin 2025 holds extraordinary significance, not just as an athlete but as someone whose life began with a battle against the odds.
Italy is the home country of Dr. Marco Pozzi, the surgeon who saved Stephanie’s life when she was just 10 days old.
Born with a congenital heart defect, Stephanie underwent life-saving open-heart surgery as a newborn. “Thanks to him, I am here today,” she said of Dr. Pozzi. “I feel the happiest for being back in the country of the person who saved my life.”
From a baby fighting for survival to a confident athlete gliding across the ice, Stephanie stands as a shining example of resilience. Now 29, she is returning to the country where her journey began, this time not as a patient but as a world-class athlete. From 8 to 15 March 2025, she will be among 1,500 athletes from over 100 countries competing at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025—the world’s largest sports and humanitarian event.
Stephanie’s story is part of the ‘Celebrate the Exceptional’ campaign, supported by Toyota Motor Europe and UPS, a visual and narrative project designed to spotlight eight exceptional Special Olympics winter athletes representing their countries at the World Winter Games Turin 2025.
Stephanie’s father, Mark Gott, reflects on her remarkable journey: “I’m very proud; she does amazing. For what she’s come through in her life… I do cry sometimes at the thought of what she’s done. It proves that anyone with learning disabilities can get on the ice.”
Her introduction to figure skating came at a time when she needed it most. “I was bullied at school because I was different,” Stephanie recalled. “People used to take the mick out of my arms and my legs.” But a family outing to an ice rink changed everything. Though “clumsy like Bambi at first,” she laughed—Stephanie fell in love with skating. For her 14th birthday, she received lessons, and she hasn’t looked back since.
Stephanie has already experienced the joy of competing on Italian ice, having participated in the Special Olympics Great Britain National Winter Games in Folgaria, early in 2024.
Now, she spends three hours a day on the ice ahead of Turin 2025, pouring her heart and soul into a sport that has given her freedom and confidence. “I feel free as a butterfly,” said Stephanie, who took bronze at the World Winter Games Austria 2017. “Not the timid girl I was when I was really little. People treat me differently than before.”
But her journey as an athlete hasn’t been without its challenges. As a stroke survivor, Stephanie has had to work harder than most to learn the intricate moves of figure skating.
“Because of the stroke, things don’t go in my head as easily,” she explained. “They’ll say, ‘We’ll do the three turns today, we’ll add more next week.’ So, we keep going until it goes in.”
Despite this, her determination has only fueled her growth as both a skater and a person.
The figure skating competition will take place between 11 and 14 March at the Palasport Tazzoli in Torino, Italy.
The Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 will be held in Italy from 8 – 15 March, with over 1,500 athletes from more than 100 countries competing across eight sports: alpine skiing, cross-country skiing, dance sport, figure skating, floorball, short track speed skating, snowboard, snowshoeing.
