Olympics for mentally and physically disabled athletes
For global sports competitions organized by Special Olympics, see Special Olympics World Games.
Special Olympics
Founded
July 20, 1968; 55 years ago (1968-07-20)
Founder
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Location
1133 19th Street, N.W., Washington, D.C., U.S. 20036
Origins
Camp Shriver
Area served
International
Official language
English and the host country's official language when necessary
Key people
Timothy Shriver (Chairman of the Board) Mary Davis (Chief Executive Officer) William P. Alford (Lead Director & Vice Chair) Angelo Moratti (Vice Chair) Loretta Claiborne (Vice Chair)[1]
Website
Official website
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.[2] Special Olympics competitions are held daily, all around the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 100,000 events a year.[3] Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee; however, unlike the Paralympic Games, its World Games are not held in the same year nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
The Special Olympics World Games is a major event put on by the Special Olympics committee. The World Games generally alternate between summer and winter games, in two-year cycles, recurring every fourth year. The first edition of the games were held on July 20, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, with about 1,000 athletes from the U.S. and Canada. At those first games, honorary event chair Eunice Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of the Special Olympics organization. International participation expanded in subsequent games. In 2003, the first summer games held outside the United States were in Dublin, Ireland with 7000 athletes from 150 countries. The most recent Summer Games were hosted in Berlin, Germany, between June 16 to 25, 2023.[4]
The first World Winter Games were held in 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, US. Austria hosted the first Winter Games outside the United States in 1993. The most recent Special Olympics World Winter Games were held in Graz, Schladming and Ramsau, Austria, from March 14, 2017, to March 25, 2017 (see also 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games). During the World Winter Games of 2013 in Pyeongchang, South Korea,[5] the first Special Olympics Global Development Summit was held on "Ending the Cycle of Poverty and Exclusion for People with Intellectual Disabilities", gathering government officials, activists and business leaders from around the world.[6]
^"Special Olympics Board of Directors". specialolympics.org. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
^"Smithsonian Highlights Special Olympics History and Athletes". National Museum of American History. July 6, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2018.
^"2016 Reach Report" (PDF). Special Olympics. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 9, 2022.
^"Berlin, Germany selected to host the 2023 Special Olympics World Games". Special Olympics. November 13, 2018.
^"Main page". 2013sopoc.org. Archived from the original on August 17, 2012. Retrieved February 4, 2013.
^"Global Leaders Convene in PyeongChang, Korea Participate in Groundbreaking Special Olympics Global Development Summit". Special Olympics. January 30, 2013. Retrieved July 12, 2014.
nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games. The SpecialOlympics World Games is a major event put on by the SpecialOlympics committee. The World Games...
worldwide. SpecialOlympics World Games take place every two years and alternate between Summer and Winter Games, a schedule similar to the Olympics and Paralympics...
The 2025 SpecialOlympics World Winter Games, officially known as the XII SpecialOlympics World Winter Games. and commonly known as Torino 2025, (Italian:...
SpecialOlympics Bharat is an officially recognised programme of SpecialOlympics International which operates in India. It was founded in 1988 as Special...
The 2027 SpecialOlympics World Summer Games, officially known as the XVII SpecialOlympic World Games or the SpecialOlympics World Games Santiago 2027...
The 2023 SpecialOlympics World Summer Games, officially known as the XVI SpecialOlympic World Games or SpecialOlympics World Games Berlin 2023 (German:...
Special Olympics provides year-round training in Olympic based sports and is based in 204 countries. The SpecialOlympics USA Games is a national Special Olympics...
The 2003 SpecialOlympics World Summer Games (Irish: Cluichí Samhraidh Oilimpeacha Speisialta 2003) were hosted in Dublin Ireland, with participants staying...
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (French: Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions...
SpecialOlympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills...
organized in parallel with and in a similar way to the Olympic Games. The IOC-recognized SpecialOlympics World Games include athletes with intellectual disabilities...
philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the SpecialOlympics, a sports organization for persons with intellectual disabilities....
Summer Olympics until the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, when a separate Olympic flag was created to be used only at the Winter Olympics (see below)...
was introduced as a sport in the Winter SpecialOlympics in 1932.[citation needed] In 1970, the SpecialOlympics World Winter Games added team floor hockey...
partnered with SpecialOlympics New York for three years. In 2018, Death Wish Coffee generated $37,492.50 for SpecialOlympics New York through special edition...
The 1968 SpecialOlympics World Summer Games were held in Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, United States, on July 20, 1968. Some of the smaller indoor...
The 2019 SpecialOlympics World Summer Games (Arabic: 2019 الألعاب الأولمبية الصيفية الخاصة بألعاب العالم الصيفية, 2019 al'aleab al'uwlimbiat alsayfiat...
the stadium include the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2003 SpecialOlympics, and numerous musical concerts. In 2012, Irish pop group Westlife sold...
Children award. Vodianova is a mother of 5, and also a member of the SpecialOlympics International Board of Directors. In 2021, the United Nations Population...
part of the 2020 Summer Olympics. In January 2009, the IFF and the sport of floorball received recognition from the SpecialOlympics. In addition to recognition...
retired physical education/kinesiology professor and pioneer of the SpecialOlympics from Oakville, Ontario. Hayden was born in Windsor, Ontario and lives...
2013 SpecialOlympics World Winter Games (Korean: 2013년 동계 스페셜 올림픽 세계대회, romanized: 2013-nyeon Donggye SpecialOlympics Segye Daehoe) was a Special Olympics...
Ecuadorian general election is scheduled to be held. March 8 – 17 – 2025 SpecialOlympics World Winter Games. April 13 – October 13 – Expo 2025 will be held...
part of the global SpecialOlympics movement. Great Britain is represented at the SpecialOlympics World Games and the SpecialOlympics Great Britain National...
closing ceremonies of Winter Olympic Games (Torino 2006 and Vancouver 2010) and in the opening ceremony of the 2015 SpecialOlympics World Summer Games. Lavigne...
grow in popularity among SpecialOlympics programmes globally and it is now the third most played sport among SpecialOlympics athletes. The sport is also...
Global Information