Athletes

: In a small country with a population of less than 400,000 people, there is a family with 32 children. They hang out together, hold pizza parties, chat, laugh, but most of all, they play basketball.

David Johnston has many talents when it comes to playing sports. An athlete in several disciplines, Johnston, starting in 1988, competed in alpine skiing, five-pin bowling, snowshoeing, and many more; however, he says five-pin bowling and powerlifting are his “special sports.” “I got involved with Special Olympics when I was in school and I was put down all my life,” Johnston says about his start. “So, I found out about Special Olympics and how they accepted people and how we get the opportunity to compete.”

Special Olympics aims to provide inclusive strategies with National Center on Health, Physical Activity and Disability (NCHPAD) that address challenges faced by individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) to live smokefree and choose health.

On 5 November, the 53rd running of the New York City Marathon commenced when more than 50,000 people raced from Staten Island towards the finish line in Central Park, 26.2 miles away. Among the racers was Special Olympics Texas runner Kayleigh Williamson who made history as one of the first women with Down syndrome to complete the NYC Marathon (10:09:11).

When Pleskow is not swimming in the Potomac River alongside her mom or running on the track, she can be found within the walls of Brightspot—a software development company just outside the nation’s capital in Reston, Virginia.

The 2023 Special Olympics World Games in Berlin made me feel at home, welcomed, loved, and embraced.

Sports have always been a powerful force for bringing people together, and Special Olympics Unified Sports® is no exception.

Thomas Cleek has been playing golf for as long as he can remember. The pairing—Cleek and golfing—was just one of those things that was meant to be.

Just a few miles down the road from their Detroit homes, history was made for a group of students from the Drew Transition Center.

It is an overcast sky in the middle of September as the leaves break away from the trees, signaling the changing of seasons.

On a crisp and chilly Saturday morning at Peaks View Park in Lynchburg, Virginia, Special Olympics softball teams from across the United States and Canada joined together for the 2023 Special Olympics North America Softball Championship. Teams, both traditional and Unified, started in a round-robin format.

Part employment opportunity, part learning experience, internships are often an integral part of a person’s career development.