In Case You Missed it: July16-20

Photo: specialolympics.org

Hello Everyone and welcome to this week's In Case You Missed  It post.

Today marks the 44th birthday of the Special Olympics.

On a steamy July 20th afternoon in 1968, 7 weeks after her younger brother had been gunned down, Eunice Kennedy Shriver walked to the microphone at Soldier Field in Chicago and introduced the first Special Olympics Games.

With a crowd of fewer than 100 people in the 85,000-seat stadium, 1,000 athletes from 26 states and Canada, all classified (in those days) as mentally retarded, marched in the opening ceremonies and followed Shriver as she recited what is still known as the Special Olympics oath:


"Let me win, but if I cannot win let me be brave in the attempt."

Many doubters and skeptics shook their heads and most of the press completely ignored the competition. Shriver was undaunted and made a bold prediction that one million of the world's intellectually challenged would someday compete athletically.

She was wrong.

Today, more than three million Special Olympic athletes are training year-round in all 50 states and in 181 countries around the world.

Shriver had a vision and a belief in the capabilities of individuals who were once locked away in institutions. Education, medical treatment, athletic training and other services all have all become more accessible for people with intellectual & physical disabilities as a direct result of her vision; more importantly, so have minds, attitudes communities and laws.

For more than 5 decades, Eunice Kennedy Shriver was the leader in the worldwide effort to improve and enhance the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities. Her spirit and her work continues to touch, educate and inspire so many.

Please take a moment and view  photos of the first International Special Olympics here,  and read more about the remarkable History of Special Olympics .


Have a great weekend everyone.



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