Disabled athletes compete for gold in the Special Olympics

The Special Olympics World Summer Games was held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates from March 14 to March 21. The Special Olympics is a multi-sports event for intellectually-disabled people. Some people may believe that disabled people would have a hard time playing sports professionally and that it wouldn’t be entertaining. However, this competition was filled with athletic performances and even contained a couple surprises for audience to enjoy.

The opening ceremony was held on Thurday March 14 in the Zayed Sports City Stadium, which previously held the FIFA Club World Cup and the AFC Asian Cup. During the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics, several famous musical artists, such as Avril Lavigne, Luis Fonsi, and Now United, showed up to perform.

After the opening ceremony, numerous events, like handball, soccer, and bocce, began all over Abu Dhabi and Dubai. There were around 7,000 athletes from all around the world, including Brazil, New Zealand, and Leichtenstein. The atheletes participated in many events, ranging from well-known sports like basketball, football, and cycling to several dangerous sports like judo, power-lifting, and open water swimming. These events were held in mutiple different stadiums around Abu Dhabi and Dubai, including the Abuu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre, the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club, the Al Forsan Resort, the Corniche, the Yas Links Abu Dhabi Golf club, the Yas Marina Circuit, the Zayed Sports City in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Police Club Stadium, and the Hamdan Sports Complex in Dubai.

The closing ceremony of the Special Olympics took place on March 21 back at the Zayed Sports City Stadium. It was at this time when the flag representing the Special Olympics was handed over from Abu Dhabi to Åre and Östersund, Jämtland County, Sweden
who will be the hosts of the next Special Olympics event in the winter. Most of the performers from the opening ceremony returned for the closing ceremony. This time, however, the performers came together to sing the Special Olympics theme song “Right Where I’m Supposed To Be.”

This year’s Special Olympics Summer Games went on smoothly with the events occurring on time, atheletes displaying their determination to win, and the musical performances being of the highest quality. There is much anticipation for the Special Olympics World Winter Games, which will be held in 2021 in Sweden, as well as the next Special Olympics World Summer Games, which occurs in 2023 with Germany as the hosts.

Featured image- Disabled atheletes showing their best in the Special Olympics Photo Courtesy of Abudhabi2.com

by Andy Kim