SACRAMENTO, Calif. — October is National Dwarfism Awareness Month and two little people from Sacramento have something BIG to celebrate!
Jude and Hai Okenfuss recently got back from the World Dwarf Games, an Olympic-style event where people from all over the world with dwarfism compete in a variety of sports.
The pursuit for athletic greatness takes time and dedication – and 16-year-old Hai and 12-year-old Jude have put in the time. ABC10 first caught up with the brothers at Sacramento’s Cal Middle School back in 2017.
Back then they were training for their first trip to the World Dwarf Games in Canada. Hai was competing in the junior category and Jude was on the sidelines photographing his brother’s wins while playing basketball and badminton.
Six years later, both brothers qualified to go back to the World Dwarf Games, this time in Germany. ABC10 caught back up with them at badminton practice and if there’s one thing you’ll notice about the duo, it’s their confidence.
“Prove people wrong. That’s what we do a lot,” said Hai.
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The boys overcome stereotypes with their can-do attitude. They say it’s limited bullying or negativity towards them in middle school and high school.
“It’s challenging to play sports with other people, but you really just have to push yourself and know what your boundaries are,” said Hai.
A lot of that can-do attitude comes from their dad, Dan, who says times are different from when he was growing up.
“You know we need to shift that attitude from ‘what is wrong with you’ to wait. As far as society, you are just as capable as I am, and everyone just has a different condition and different aspects of who they are. So, I think this is just a great way to capitalize on who we are as people with dwarfism,” he said.
Their attitude got them to the World Dwarf Games, but with any game there is a humbling lesson in winning and losing.
“He’s always better in sports than me but I got three gold medals and he only got a bronze and silver,” said Jude.
Jude was the big winner in his age category with three gold medals and though he got to rub the experience in his brother’s face, Hai got to take his bronze and silver medals and experience what a German bar is like.
“I experienced the bar, how they blast music,” said Hai.
For context, Hai’s dad was with him and the drinking age is 16 in Germany.
Regardless of winning or losing, sports opens doors for opportunity. The games have rules and they don’t discriminate against players. People discriminate, but as Hai and Jude have shown, time and dedication will get you respect no matter the outcome.
“What really matters is that we had fun and it was competitive,” said Hai.
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