Thousands mark close of Special Olympics
The cauldron no longer burns in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where thousands gathered on Sunday to mark the end of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games.
After eight days of competition, the 6,500 athletes and their coaches paraded into the crowded stadium, waving flags and snapping selfies along the route to their seats.
The athletes from Ireland, clad in green with flecks of orange, belted out the soccer chant “Ole, ole, ole.” Those from Colombia, decked out in canary yellow with woven sombreros, handed out pins bearing the national flag.
Not all took home a gold, silver or bronze medal. But every athlete was given a ribbon, which many affixed with pins and buttons from other nations.
Billed as the largest-ever gathering of nations in the city, this year’s event included athletes and coaches from 165 countries. The 1984 Summer Olympics played host to 140 countries.
The games have come a long way since 1962, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver launched “Camp Shriver” for those who had an intellectual disability like her older sister. Six years later, the first international Special Olympics were held in Chicago.
Shriver believed sports could break down barriers and unite communities, and she wanted to ensure her sister and others like her could pursue their physical talents.
Now, the movement serves four million people around the world and cities eagerly bid to serve as host to the event. Styria, a state in southeast Austria, is hosting the Special Olympics World Winter Games in 2017.
This year’s games featured competition in 25 sports, including equestrian, judo, kayaking and roller skating. After tallying the results, organizers said the athletes shattered 27 world records.
To make it to the world stage, athletes must have medaled in a state or regional competition, commit to six weeks of training in their sport and be at least eight years old.
Israel sent a delegation of 40 athletes to the Games and brought home 61 medals – 25 golds, 18 silvers and 18 bronzes.