Health

Special Olympics Chinese Taipei athlete Michael Fan inspired his mother Angela Huang to become an open water swimmer and coach.

In the beginning of 2008, after attending two years of college, I felt a strong pull towards the military. I was a respectable student, but I wanted to experience something more than what my school could offer. I needed to be a part of something that was bigger than myself and ultimately push me to be a better individual. In July of 2008, I enlisted in the United States Army as part of the Military Police. I completed Basic Combat Training and One Station Unit Training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. There, I learned how to be a soldier.

Once the COVID-19 pandemic hit, Abby Resnick could no longer participate in competitions, coach floor hockey, and teach drum and tone for people with special needs. She started to look for new activities to do at home.

In my role as a Special Olympics coach, Special Olympics Iran athletes taught me about the pivotal role that the Special Olympics athletes play in society.

The Special Olympics Switzerland Challenge is a new multilingual website and activity hub where athletes can participate in digital training sessions and competitions, no matter where in the world they are!

The world changed in 2020. Isolation, fear, overloaded health systems, and food insecurity continue to plague the world through the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic has especially made things difficult for people with intellectual disabilities (ID). Significant health disparities have been further exacerbated for those with ID. Special Olympics Health has been working hard to address these disparities.

The NFL Play 60 program is designed to promote healthy lifestyles for children by getting young people physically active for 60 minutes a day. Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Famer and Special Olympics Supporter Will Shields recently led an NFL Play 60 virtual workout for Special Olympics athletes in Kansas City.

“Take care of yourself and move forward” has been Joe Wu’s motto during these last few months. No longer able to compete and to practice on a regular basis, Wu—like so many others—has turned to virtual ways to connect and uplift those around him.

Special Olympics Operations Specialist Ben Collins Talks with Dr. Andreas Heinecke, founder of Dialogue in the Dark, on World Sight Day 2020

Special Olympics Chief Health Officer, Dr. Alicia Bazzano MD, PhD, MPH was a recent guest on the Ben & Bilal Show that airs on Canada Talks SiriusXM 167. They discussed the training, fitness and emotional support available virtually to athletes due to physical distancing related to the COVID-19 pandemic.