Daniel Bryner, a 2024 inductee, has the distinction of being the first Special Olympic athlete to be enshrined into the Chautauqua Sports Hall of Fame. In a career that spanned over three decades, Bryner's pinnacle achievement was winning one gold and two silver medals in roller skating at the 1995 Special Olympics World Games at New Haven, Connecticut.
Beginning in 1971 and for 29 years, Dan trained and competed in nearly every sport Special Olympics offered, including nordic skiing, alpine skiing, weight lifting, track and field, aquatics, volleyball, basketball, poly hockey, roller skating, softball, bowling, and golf. He earned medals in most of them at all levels, including bronze and silver in 1983 and 1987 in softball and aquatics, respectively, at Special Olympics International Games.
During his most active years, 1988-1995, Bryner won 35 gold, 64 silver and 32 bronze medals at the state level and seven at the national level.
Overall, he earned over 200 medals in his career in Special Olympics competition at the local, sectional, regional, state, national, international and world levels. Each medal was a testament to his drive to excel, his persistence in training for weeks, months and years to be his best at whatever sport he chose. Each medal was also a testament to the dedication of his parents, coaches and the community of Special Olympics supporters who made his participation possible.
Daniel, born in 1959, was the third son of Charles and Helen Bryner. He was born with Down Syndrome. The family lived in West Ellicott, and Dan attended Southwestern Central and BOCES. In his early years, through the efforts of his family, teachers, medical personnel and specialists, he worked to overcome a severe speech handicap, coordination and vision difficulties, hernia surgery and bouts of pneumonia. This formative period developed his physical abilities and his love for sports.
Dan and his parents were named New York State Special Olympics Family of the Year in 1989 for their contributions in building the program in Western New York. Dan was a sought after spokesman and dedicated fundraiser for Special Olympics.
In 1997, Bryner was chosen as New York State’s Special Olympics Male Athlete of the Year. The award goes to the at athlete who best exemplifies the spirit of Special Olympics by training and competing at various levels, maximizing athletic potential and demonstrating good sportsmanship.
Dan had a zest for life and a willingness to try new things. If you asked him "Are you ready, Dan?" His immediate answer was, "Always!" He was unconcerned about failure. Success for him was participation and medals were his reward for improvement. He was the consummate sportsman. Competing was fun for him, but he was also concerned that his competitors were having fun as well. He took pride in helping other athletes to achieve. Win or lose, he would always congratulate his opponents with a cheerful, "Good game champions."
Special Olympics provided the platform for Dan to reach more of his potential than most could achieve: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt."
He succumbed to Down Syndrome-related dementia in 2016. He is interred in Holy Cross Cemetery in Jamestown.
