Michael León has been a Special Olympics Athlete since 2009. He has participated in multiple sports and competitions. Autism and diabetes have not deterred him from achieving his goals.
Michael speaks about Special Olympics movement to corporate, civic, and school-age groups. He enjoys running alongside officers during Law Enforcement Torch Run® (LETR) activities and engaging people at Tip-a-Cop events. He serves as an athlete representative to the Special Olympics Southern California (SOSC) LETR committee and has been the co-emcee at the annual Bill Shumard Hall of Fame Award Event benefiting SOSC.
Michael was trained to be a Health Messenger in 2023. He is part of the Health Initiatives Sub Committee for SOSC. He is also an Associate of Tierra Del Sol—a program for individuals with intellectual disabilities. He has volunteered as a pre-school assistant and is employed by Tierra Del Sol to teach communication skills, exercise, and healthy lifestyle classes via Zoom to fellow associates and staff members.
Through this work, Michael has received many awards including the Richard L. Van Kirk Outstanding Outreach Achievement Award given to the outstanding Special Olympics Southern California Global Messenger. He was also the inaugural winner of the Athlete of the Year award at the Bill Shumard Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics Southern California Gala and was honored as the International LETR International Executive Council Athlete awardee.
In Summer 2022, Michael was asked to run alongside Law Enforcement - carrying the Flame of Hope prior to the opening of the USA Summer Games in Orlando, Florida.
Michael’s family all participate in Special Olympics as coaches—but he is seen as the most decorated athlete in the family.
Health Messengers 2024
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Rimi Ando
Special Olympics Nippon -
Jennifer Stephanie López Avelar
Special Olympics El Salvador -
Asma Baker
Special Olympics United Arab Emirates -
Gerard Diedhiou
Special Olympics Senegal -
Tyler Griswold
Special Olympics Kansas -
Sharon Johnson
Special Olympics Arkansas -
Lam Wai Kwan
Special Olympics Hong Kong -
Patricia Larkin
Special Olympics Ireland -
Daniel Fernando Velasquez Lecointe
Special Olympics Guatemala -
Michael León
Special Olympics Southern California -
Banele Makhonco
Special Olympics South Africa -
Sam Micallef
Special Olympics Malta -
Odion-Imafidon Osatohamwen
Special Olympics Nigeria -
Elbegzaya Purev
Special Olympics Mongolia -
Adéla Šavlová
Special Olympics Czech Republic -
Enma Maria Madrid Vallecillo
Special Olympics Honduras -
Ying Yung
Special Olympics Chinese Taipei
