Bethel Park senior selected for 2026 Special Olympics USA games
Molly Mathias has become a celebrity at Bethel Park High School, and with good reason.
The senior will represent Pennsylvania in powerlifting at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, the lone female powerlifter in the state to be selected. She also is the first Bethel Park student athlete chosen to participate in the event.
The 2026 Special Olympics Games are scheduled for June 20-26 at the University of Minnesota and other premier venues in the “Land of 10,000 Lakes.” More than 3,000 athletes and 1,500 coaches from all 50 states will participate in 16 sports.
“I feel great,” Molly said about qualifying.
Her road to qualifying for the national competition began at a regional meet at Slippery Rock in September. Her performance there qualified her for a state competition at Villanova, where she earned three gold medals.
Powerlifting is not the only sport in which the 19-year old participates. She’s also a member of Bethel Park’s bocce team and plays pickleball and top golf. She also has played baseball at the Miracle League of the South Hills since the program’s inception.
“She really thrives in this setting,” said Matthew Richert, special education teacher and bocce coach. “She’s one of our best players. With this has come more opportunities to participate in Special Olympics throughout the community. We have really done a lot to promote inclusion of students with disabilities not only in sports but also in clubs like the Best Buddies Club and Unified Bocce. She makes us proud. I’m very proud of Molly for her achievements in sports and in the classroom.”
When asked about her favorite sport, Molly mentioned bocce and powerlifting, breaking into a big smile when talking about any sport.
“(Powerlifting) is fun and I’m getting stronger,” she said. “I feel like my muscles are really good.”
She also enjoys the team atmosphere of bocce.
“It’s a fun game to play,” Molly said. “It’s a good team. I like all the sports I can play.”
Her interest in powerlifting came about through her involvement in the Miracle League of the South Hills.
“To keep their athletes engaged and busy in the offseason, the Miracle League partnered with this wonderful gym in Bethel Park, Teleo Performance,” said Kim Mathias, Molly’s mother. “They get the kids moving and get them stronger in the offseason. Last year, after she finished her last season, one of their trainers pulled me aside and said she loves it here.”
Molly joined the Teleo Performance powerlifting team a little more than a year ago.
“I never see her without a smile,” said Heather Dennis, strength and conditioning coach for the powerlifting team at Teleo. “She’s encouraging to her teammates. You’ll look over and see her do what fighters do when they shadow box. She shadow lifts. It’s just so amazing to see that it’s part of her nature now. She enjoys it so much. Her work ethic is part of who she is. She loves it and lets it come out.”
Dennis admitted to shedding some tears when hearing Molly qualified for the Special Olympics.
“I’m just so happy that it was her,” Dennis said.
Molly will participate in three different types of lifts in the competition – squats, deadlifts and bench press. She won the deadlift gold medal with a lift of 200 pounds, her bench press was 60 pounds and squat was 70 pounds.
Her mother beams with pride when talking about her daughter.
“I’m so glad that we let her explore that or it was brought to her attention that she had the interest in it,” Kim Mathias said. “It wasn’t something on our radar that she would like to do. I’m just glad she had the opportunity to try new things. These partnerships that the Special Olympics has with these local facilities are so wonderful for these kids.”
Her success in the gym has created newfound confidence in her daughter.
“Someone came up to me the other day and said Molly is starting conversations and her whole personality is different now,” she said. “It’s all from this. You find something you like to do, you feel confident in yourself. She’s very, very proud of herself.”
Molly also seems to be enjoying her celebrity status.
“This is actually really good for her, public speaking, and answering questions,” her mother said.
She and her family recently had a visit with Bethel Park Mayor Jack Allen, and there was a segment detailing her achievements on KDKA-TV.
Richert said in the next year, there will be a lot of focus on vocational training for Molly, who hopes to one day be a bartender.
“Nothing that I would have guessed,” said her mother. “She really stepped out of the box. She has a dream to be a bartender, and I’d really like to make it happen for her.
“I just feel so lucky that we’re in high school at this time when these things are happening,” Kim Mathias continued. “I can’t say enough about Bethel Park, Special Olympics, Miracle League, Teleo Performance, all of these things that we’ve been involved in. It’s been fantastic.”