Already an accomplished competitor in Special Olympics past, 2006 Lakewood High graduate and Long Beach resident David Irvine can add one more distinction to a trophy case that includes gold medals in the 100M and 4x100M races: torch bearer.
Battling the waves in a Long Beach Police boat, Irvine took the torch from another competitor on a Los Angeles Police boat in the middle of the harbor, riding to shore and passing the torch off to fellow competitors who would run the flame to Cal State Long Beach.
The games will kick off on the CSULB campus today, the fifth time that the university has hosted the event.
Photos by Russell Conroy