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Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff, Ryan Lochte and Megan Jendrick visit China to raise awareness of athletes with intellectual disabilities leading up to World Summer Games
SHANGHAI, CHINA, 12 April 2007–Following record-setting performances at the 2007 World Swimming Championships in Melbourne, Australia, US Swim Team members Michael Phelps, Katie Hoff, Ryan Lochte and Megan Jendrick arrived in China this week in a goodwill tour to back the upcoming Special Olympics World Summer Games, which will be held in Shanghai from 2-11 October.
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“There are no spectators at Special Olympics--we are all transformed by the courage, determination and perseverance demonstrated by our athletes in competition and in their daily lives,” said Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver. “Through sports, the Special Olympics movement not only gives new hope to athletes and their families, but breaks down barriers and acts as a catalyst for social change around the world. Having the support of world champions like Michael, Katie, Ryan and Megan for our World Games highlights the courage and dedication of the Special Olympics athletes who have worked so hard to become champions in their own right.”
Speaking at the Beijing press conference, Michael Phelps expressed his appreciation for the hard work and dedication displayed by the Special Olympics athletes in preparation for the upcoming World Games. “Our dreams are the same,” he said in reference to the Special Olympics swimmers. “We all start from having a dream, and working toward that dream. We have goals. There are different levels of goals, but we get it in the same way.”
More than two million athletes with intellectual disabilities participate in Special Olympics in 165 countries around the world. The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games will bring together nearly 7,500 athletes from more than 160 countries and will be the largest global sports and humanitarian event of the year. The Visa Friendship Lane Tour, sponsored by Visa, Speedo and St. Regis Hotels, featured visits by the US swimmers to schools in Shanghai and Beijing, as well as their participation in a Special Olympics China swimming clinic for athletes who are preparing for the upcoming World Games.
Additionally, the four Olympic swimmers will donate US$8,808 to Special Olympics China and the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. The amount of the contribution is symbolic of the date of the Opening Ceremonies of the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008.
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