When Elizabeth Myers pulls her medals out of her bag, the straps get tangled.

It’s no wonder with 16 medals in bronze, silver and gold — most of them are gold — that she earned during her time competing in the Special Olympics. Myers, 76, fondly recalls those days competing in the 50-yard dash, the 100-yard dash, standing long jump and softball. She also earned trophies and ribbons.

“I was quite the athlete,” she said, while sitting at the Whitefish Community Center.

As a child, Myers lived with her family in Kirkland, Washington, and she competed in her first Olympics in Spokane. Eventually the Olympics were moved to Ft. Lewis, Washington, and she continued competing there. She enjoyed the events that surrounded the games — lunches, dinners and parties for the athletes.

“I had a lot of friends,” she said.

When she was in her 20s, Myers along with her family moved to Whitefish. She worked at Flathead Industries on Baker Avenue and continued her career there until she retired two years ago.

“I would hang and sort clothes,” she said. “I would cut paper and clean bookshelves. I worked hard.”

Myers attends mass at St. Charles Borromeo and enjoys riding the bus to the community center for lunch.

“Sometimes when it’s nice I walk through the park and downtown,” she said.