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| Special Olympics athlete and International Board Member Loretta Claiborne |
“Thirty years ago I was told that I wasn't going to be anybody, that I would be put in an institution. Today, I stand here to say that I am somebody.”
Special Olympics athlete Loretta Claiborne is a world-class competitor and one of the most inspirational and remarkable women of our time.
Claiborne was born into a large, poor, single-parent family. Partially blind, unable to walk or talk until the age of four, Claiborne faced ridicule for her intellectual disability while growing up. The discovery of her own running ability and Special Olympics changed her life.
Today, Claiborne is one of the most accomplished and celebrated of all Special Olympics athletes. Claiborne has competed in more than 26 marathons, finishing with the fastest 25 women runners in the Pittsburgh Marathon and twice with the top-100 women runners in the Boston Marathon. She won gold medals in the 1991 and 1999 Special Olympics World Games half-marathon, and also excelled in other sports.
Claiborne was the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors, and in June 2007 she rejoined the Board.
Claiborne is a passionate advocate for people with intellectual and physical disabilities. In May 2001, she traveled with film star Arnold Schwarzenegger to South Africa, joining former President Nelson Mandela to bring awareness of the benefits of Special Olympics to the entire continent and to recruit new athletes as a part of Special Olympics' global growth campaign.
In 2001 she was among the distinguished speakers who testified to the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations on the health status and needs of persons with intellectual disabilities. During the hearing, Claiborne stopped reading her testimony mid-way through to speak in heartfelt words about her own struggle to get quality medical care and her current situation in which she cannot secure surgical treatment for her injured knee because of her disabilities and her health care provider’s disregard for her situation. This testimony led to the U.S. Surgeon General’s Call to action to bridge the gap in health disparities for people with intellectual disabilities.
Claiborne has been a keynote speaker for many events and in 2004 was featured in the tribute book, "SuperWomen: 100 Women, 100 Sports." Also, in 2004, she received the Billy Jean King Pioneer Award from the NorthEast Women’s Fund for her groundbreaking achievements in the field of sports.
In October 2006, the Institute for Community Living (ICL) honored Claiborne with the “ICL Lifetime Achievement Award” for her accomplishments as a Special Olympics athlete and work as a champion for people with intellectual disabilities. She was the first person with an intellectual disability to receive the award.
In June 2007, Claiborne was honored with the World Sports Humanitarian Hall of Fame’s Founder’s Award. The award is presented annually to individuals who, through sports, make a difference in their community.
Outside of Special Olympics, Claiborne holds a fourth-degree black belt in karate, served as a Special Olympics Board Member, communicates in four languages, including sign language, and holds an honorary doctorate degree from Quinnipiac University and Villanova University, the first person with an intellectual disability known have been conferred with such academic recognitions.
In 1996 she appeared on ESPN's “ESPY” Awards show, receiving the coveted Arthur Ashe Award for Courage. “If I could take this award and break it up into a million pieces,” Claiborne said in her acceptance speech, “I would like to do that and split it with every Special Olympics athlete.”
Claiborne's life was the basis for a Wonderful World of Disney docu-drama film called "The Loretta Claiborne Story." The movie tells the story of her life, being born with an intellectual disability as well as physical challenges, and of her overcoming enormous odds to become an accomplished athlete and spokesperson. The movie has aired numerous times in the United States, has been shown in many countries around the world and is a teaching tool in the Special Olympics Get Into It! K-12 service learning curriculum.
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