It’s mid-week at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, and the competition has been fierce. It’s hot in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but that’s not a concern for athletes who are representing the 52 Programs across the country. They are giving everything they’ve got to compete at the national level.
Special Olympics Florida softball completed a walk-off play to advance to the gold medal game. Tears of happiness were shed at the pool, and there were buzzer beaters in basketball. Athletics highlighted fan favorite Conner Emmert.
Emmert, who was featured by ESPN, says this experience is about “having fun.” Oftentimes, athletes might forget to sit back and remember why we play sports. At Special Olympics events, it’s rarely about who breaks the record or who collects hardware on the podium. USA Games, in its core, and the reason why we do what we do, is for the love of the game.
“I have really good teammates, and we have a good team,” Emmert says.
It’s that type of enthusiasm on campus that draws the crowds to events throughout the week.
Over at the Thrivent Fan Fest, country music singer Madden Metcalf, with other music performances by Bizhiki and Nur-D, rocked the venue. Also making an appearance was Netflix star Tanner Smith of Love on the Spectrum for a Meet & Greet.
With only two more days of events, we are starting to see a lot of the podium rounds. ESPN will cover flag football’s Unified 5v5 gold medal game, which will air on NFL Network, ESPN+, and Disney+.
Down the home stretch, Special Olympics Minnesota leads the medal count with 78, including 33 golds. Michigan is in second with 43 medals and 20 golds, followed by Florida with 41 total medals and 13 golds.
Editor’s note: SONA athlete reporter Michael Kelley contributed to this story. Quotes and interviews were done by Kelley.
