Our Athletes
Athletes are the heart of Special Olympics. Our athletes are children and adults with intellectual disabilities from all around the world—5.6 million and counting! They are finding success, joy and friendship as part of our global community. They're also having lots of fun!
Special Olympics New York Rodney Hankins shifted his focus to coaching after many years of competing.
5 Min Read
Special Olympics Ohio athlete and coach Bobby Reidl will announce an NFL Draft pick for the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday during the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
2 Min Read
Many people with intellectual disabilities live sedentary lives and have unhealthy eating habits. Data collected by Special Olympics shows that 80% of athletes with intellectual disabilities are overweight or obese.
1 Min Read
At the 2019 World Games, Tan Yee Shu was known as the talented and motivated captain of his Unified basketball team. He continued that leadership even after competitions and in-person training halted due to COVID-19.
1 Min Read
Special Olympics New York athlete Cori makes a case for inclusive healthcare.
For World Autism Awareness Day, 2 April 2021, we came up a few survey questions for fellow Special Olympics athletes with autism. We both work at Special Olympics. Josh is an Assistant in the Business Services department and Jerry works as a Specialist with the Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® program. Through these answers, we hope readers will learn that people with autism have a wide variety of talents, outlooks and experiences.
Article and interviews by Jerry Holy and Josh Cohen
Article and interviews by Jerry Holy and Josh Cohen
What are short, fun, and seem to be on an endless energetic loop? Gifs of course…and children!
2 Min Read
A first-person story about living with cerebral palsy.
I was born on Nov. 18, 1993, but my story really didn’t start until I was six months old.
5 Min Read
One of April’s “Autism Awareness” themes is celebrating ways that people with autism lead full and healthy lives. For the Taylor twins, that’s something they celebrate every day.
1 Min Read
Every year, we have high hopes for the next year to be better than the next year, but 2020 was a whole different story.
1 Min Read
Coach Jack Nagle, a two-sport coach, was named a SONA outstanding coach. After three decades of coaching, he is lucky enough to watch athletes for an entire lifetime.
4 Min Read