The pressure may rise for some athletes facing an Olympic stage, but for five Natchez athletes life is calm, cool and collected in the home stretch before the start of the USA National Special Olympic Games.

Next Saturday, special Olympic athletes Jordan Couch, Haley Freeman, Angelina Jackson, Sadie Saunders and Chandler Warren will be heading to Lincoln, Neb., to compete in swimming, track and field and bocce ball.

They, along with 30 other athletes, were selected out of more than 4,000 Mississippi Special Olympic athletes by event officials based on past performances, to represent the state in the games.

This is the first time the Natchez athletes have attended the USA National Special Olympic Games, which occur once every four years, and they all said that they’re not nervous one little bit. Having all participated in the State Special Olympic Games for the past several years taking home a number of medals, this dream team is ready for the national stage and confident they will bring home more medals.