Behind the Headlines – World Book Student
  • Search

  • Archived Stories

    • Ancient People
    • Animals
    • Arts & Entertainment
    • Business & Industry
    • Civil rights
    • Conservation
    • Crime
    • Current Events
    • Current Events Game
    • Disasters
    • Economics
    • Education
    • Energy
    • Environment
    • Food
    • Government & Politics
    • Health
    • History
    • Holidays/Celebrations
    • Law
    • Lesson Plans
    • Literature
    • Medicine
    • Military
    • Military Conflict
    • Natural Disasters
    • People
    • Plants
    • Prehistoric Animals & Plants
    • Race Relations
    • Recreation & Sports
    • Religion
    • Science
    • Space
    • Technology
    • Terrorism
    • Weather
    • Women
    • Working Conditions
  • Archives by Date

Posts Tagged ‘intellectual disability’

Special Olympics 50

Friday, July 20th, 2018

July 20, 2018

Today, July 20, marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first International Special Olympics Games in 1968. Special Olympics is a year-round international program of athletic training and competition for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics features sports events modeled on those of the Olympic Games. Some 5 million athletes from 172 countries take part in Special Olympics programs.

College of DuPage welcomed more than 700 athletes for the Special Olympics Spring Games, held May 7, at the Glen Ellyn campus. 7 May 2017 Credit: COD Newsroom (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

A Special Olympics athlete leaps during a track and field competition in May 2017. Credit: COD Newsroom (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

In Chicago, where the first Special Olympics was held, 50th anniversary events include the Special Olympics Unified Cup, a soccer tournament of 24 unified (rather than national) teams modeled on the recently finished FIFA World Cup; a 4-mile (6.4-kilometer) Law Enforcement Commemorative Torch Run; and the unveiling of a large Special Olympics monument at Soldier Field, which will host a Global Day of Inclusion for Special Olympics athletes and their friends and families on July 21. That night, music stars Chance the Rapper, Smokey Robinson, and Usher are headlining the Special Olympics 50th Anniversary Celebration Concert at the city’s Northerly Island.

Credit: © Special Olympics

Credit: © Special Olympics

In Washington, D.C., where Special Olympics is headquartered, the National Museum of American History at the Smithsonian Institution is currently hosting a “Special Olympics at 50″ exhibit through June 2019. The exhibit highlights the lives of certain athletes who have participated in the games, and recalls the climate of discrimination and stigma once faced by people with intellectual disabilities.

Torch from the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, 2015. Credit: National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution

The “Special Olympics at 50″ exhibit at the National Museum of American History features this torch from the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. Credit: National Museum of American History/Smithsonian Institution

Special Olympics was created in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, executive vice president of the Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr., Foundation; and Anne M. Burke, a physical education teacher who later became a justice on the Illinois Supreme Court. Special Olympics provides opportunities for training and competition in numerous sports. Participants compete in different divisions depending on their age and ability. The athletes train in programs offered through their schools or communities.

In the United States, Special Olympics games at local, area, and state levels are held every year. In other countries, national Special Olympics Games are held every year or every other year. The Special Olympics World Games consist of summer games and winter games, which occur by turns every two years. Austria hosted the last World Winter Games in 2017. The next World Summer Games will take place in the United Arab Emirates in 2019

Tags: intellectual disability, special olympics, sports
Posted in Current Events, History, Holidays/Celebrations, People, Recreation & Sports | Comments Off

  • Most Popular Tags

    african americans ancient greece archaeology art australia barack obama baseball bashar al-assad basketball black history month china climate change conservation earthquake european union football france global warming iraq isis japan language monday literature major league baseball mars mexico monster monday mythic monday mythology nasa new york city nobel prize presidential election russia space space exploration syria syrian civil war Terrorism ukraine united kingdom united states vladimir putin women's history month world war ii