"Queen on Ice," Yuna Kim is the national figure skating icon in Korea. South Korea first sat up and paid attention to Yuna Kim during the 2004-2005 season when she placed second at the Junior Grand Prix Final, earning Korea's first international medal in the history of figure skating. Making her senior international debut in 2006, Yuna Kim came to prominence when she claimed two gold medals in a row at the 2006-2007 season and 2007-2008 Grand Prix Finals. Since then, Yuna Kim has been called the perfect skater by figure skating experts around the world. At the 2007 Cup of Russia, Yuna Kim set the world record (133.70 points) for the ladies long program with perfect techniques and presentation skills.
At the 2009 World Championships, Yuna Kim topped her own world record in the short program with 76.12 points and won with an overall score of 207.71 points, the world's best record. Yuna Kim became the only one who earned more than 8 points in Program Component Scores among world figure skaters. Kim broke the world record again with a total of total of 228.56 points, en-route to winning the gold medal at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. On July 12, 2010, UNICEF appointed the international skating sensation Yuna Kim as its newest Goodwill Ambassador. She is also appointed as an Ambassador for the 2010-2012 Visit Korea Year. In October 2010, Kim was honored with the highly coveted Sportswoman of the Year Award by the Women’s Sports Foundation. Kim has also been named a Special Olympics Global Ambassador and a Goodwill Ambassador for the Special Olympics World Summer Games PyeongChang 2013.
-
Andre Drummond
NBA All-Star & Rebound Champion, Brooklyn Nets -
Apolo Anton Ohno
Olympic Champion, Short Track Speedskating -
Avril Lavigne
Musician & Philanthropist -
Benedetto Saraceno
Health Expert & Advocate -
Robert "Bob" Beamon
Olympic Champion, Long Jump -
Brooklyn Decker Roddick
Actress & Model -
Cafu (Marcos Evangelista de Morais)
Legendary Professional Soccer Player -
Charles Melton
Actor -
Dale Moss
Former NFL Wide Receiver, Model, Actor & Media Personality -
Damian Lillard
NBA All Star, Portland Trailblazers -
Devin Booker
NBA All-Star, Phoenix Suns -
Didier Drogba
Legendary Professional Soccer Player -
Dikembe Mutombo
President & CEO, The Dikembe Mutombo Foundation; Former NBA Player -
Eddie Barbanell
Actor & Comedian -
Elena Delle Donne
WNBA Player, Washington Mystics -
Erika Ender
Singer / Songwriter, TV Celebrity, Producer & Actress -
Gleyber Torres
2x MLB All-Star, New York Yankees Shortstop -
Hannah Teter
Olympic Champion, Snow Boarding -
Her Serene Highness Princess Charlene of Monaco
Olympian & World Champion Swimmer -
Hidetoshi Nakata
Legendary Professional Soccer Player -
Hussein Fahmy
Egyptian Actor -
Ibtihaj Muhammad
Olympic Champion, Fencing -
In-Kyung Kim
Professional Golfer -
Jamaal Charles
Former NFL Player & All Pro Runningback -
Joe Haden
NFL Player -
John C. McGinley
Actor & Advocate -
Julen Lopetegui
Legendary Soccer Goaltender & current Manager of FC Sevilla -
Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt
New York Times Bestselling Author | Actor, Producer -
Ladlena Fetisova and Viacheslav Fetisov
Gymnast & Actress | Olympic Champion, Ice Hockey & Legendary Soviet Ice Hockey Player & Former NHL Player -
Lauren Potter
Actor & Advocate -
Li Na
Former Professional Tennis Player, WTA -
Maria Menounos
Actor & New York Times Best-Selling Author -
Maureen McCormick
Actor, Singer, New York Times Best-Selling Author -
Michael Phelps
Olympic Champion, Swimming -
Michelle Kwan
Olympic Figure Skater -
Nadia Comaneci
Olympic Champion, Gymnastics -
Nancy O'Dell
Media Personality -
Nicole Scherzinger
International Recording Artist & Television Personality -
Padraig Harrington
Professional Golfer -
Paul Wight
Six-Time WWE World Champion -
Ricardo Montaner
Grammy Award Winning Singer & Songwriter -
Ricky Rubio
NBA Player, Cleveland Cavaliers -
Sam Perkins
Olympic Champion, Basketball & NBA Legend -
Scott Hamilton
Olympic Champion, Figure Skating -
Seun Adigun
Summer & Winter Olympian, Hurdles & Bobsledding -
Vanessa Williams
Singer & Broadway Performer -
Vladimir 'Vanja' Grbic
Olympic Champion, Volleyball -
Willson Contreras
2x MLB All-Star, Chicago Cubs Catcher -
Yang Lan
Founding Chairperson, Sun Culture Media Group and Sun Culture Foundation; Journalist; Philanthropist -
Yang Yang
Olympic Champion, Speed Skating -
Yao Ming
NBA All Star & Chairman of the International Basketball Federation Asia (FIBA) -
Yuna Kim
Olympic Champion, Figure Skating -
Zhou Xun
Actress, Singer & Philanthropic Environmentalist -
Zou Shiming
Olympic Champion, Boxing -
View All
As icons of success from diverse industries such as sports, music, entertainment, media, and beyond, Special Olympics Global and Champion Ambassadors generously lend their time, talent, and resources to support the Special Olympics mission. They are inspirational role models who share a belief in the power to come together, break down barriers, and foster a world of inclusion while supporting Special Olympics’ expansion of sports, health, youth, and education programs.