On 20 June 2026, the opening of Special Olympics Healthy Athletes® at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minneapolis, Minnesota was marked by a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at the University of Minnesota’s Health Sciences Education Center, bringing together Special Olympics athletes, partners, and honored guests.
Healthy Athletes offers free health screenings and education across seven health disciplines including Fit Feet (podiatry), FUNfitness (physiotherapy), Health Promotion (preventative medicine), Healthy Hearing (audiology), Special Olympics Lions Clubs International Foundation Opening Eyes® (vision care), Special Olympics Special Smiles® (dentistry), and Strong Minds (mental health)—but it is also so much more. Healthy Athletes seeks to identify and help close the health gaps that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) face by determining risk factors for preventable and treatable health problems and facilitating connection to care.
People with IDD die on average 16 to 20 years earlier than the general population due to preventable and treatable health conditions. Since 1997, Healthy Athletes has delivered over 2 million free health screenings, including more than 7,200 administered during the 2026 USA Games alone in just one week.
In the lead-up to Healthy Athletes 30th anniversary next year, the ceremony speakers highlighted its far-reaching impact and the critical role of data collection in improving and informing health services for people with IDD. Among them, Dr. Dimitri Christakis, Special Olympics Chief Health Officer, announced the launch of SO-Link (Linking Athletes with Scientific Opportunities)—a new initiative designed to connect athletes with opportunities to participate in approved research and evaluation projects relevant to their health.
Dr. Christakis shared, “When people with IDD are not included in research their needs are not addressed. Health equity for people with IDD can only be achieved when there is equity in the opportunity to participate in health research. SO-Link is designed to change that.”
In addition to Dr. Christakis, speakers included Dr. Brian Sick, Vice Provost for Academic Health Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Spencer Merchant, Senior Product Director at United Healthcare, Special Olympics Chief Health Officer, and Maria Shriver, journalist and daughter of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. Collectively they underscored the growth of Healthy Athletes into a global program delivering millions of screenings, training hundreds of thousands of providers, and driving more inclusive health systems.
Moderating the ceremony, Special Olympics Minnesota athlete Kayte Barton and Special Olympics Illinois athlete Daniel Smrokowski highlighted the transformative impact of Healthy Athletes on their own personal health journeys. Kayte highlighted how her own mental health challenges helped her contribute to the development of Strong Minds as an athlete advisor. Daniel shouted out two tangible ways Healthy Athletes has helped him—by providing an updated glasses prescription and just recently fitting him for hearing aids, which in addition to helping in his everyday life will ensure that he can hear the USA Games crowds loud and clear.
In addition to his assistive devices, Daniel shared a powerful message, “One impact of Healthy Athletes that you might not be able to see but that is just as important as my glasses and hearing aid is the dignity that Healthy Athletes provides for athletes. Healthy Athletes volunteers make athletes feel safe, heard, understood, and empowered to take control of our own health. To be a great athlete, you need to be a healthy athlete, and Healthy Athletes is making that possible.”
