Special Olympics

Special Olympics is the largest global sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. It provides year-round training and various activities to approximately 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners. These people live in 172 different countries across the globe. The organization hosts more than 100,000 events every year. These include local, national, and regional competitions. Special Olympics is recognized by the International Olympic Committee. However, its World Games are different from the Paralympic Games. The Special Olympics World Games do not occur in the same year as the Olympic Games.

The organization holds major competitions known as the World Games. These games generally alternate between summer and winter versions. They follow a two-year cycle for the individual seasons. However, the full World Games occur only every fourth year. The Summer Games and Winter Games focus on different athletic disciplines. For example, the 2003 Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, featured 18 different disciplines. The most recent Summer Games took place in Berlin, Germany, from June 16 to June 25, 2023. The most recent World Winter Games were held in Torino, Italy, from March 8 to March 15, 2025.

The movement began with the vision of Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She was the sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Shriver believed that people with intellectual disabilities could live happy and meaningful lives. In June 1963, she established Camp Shriver in Potomac, Maryland. This was a day camp for children with intellectual and physical disabilities. She wanted to provide opportunities for organized athletic events. At the time, many believed these children had very few such opportunities. Shriver also wrote about her sister, Rosemary Kennedy, to change public attitudes. Rosemary had intellectual disabilities and had undergone a lobotomy in the early 1940s. This article was a watershed moment for public understanding.

Scientific research supported the idea of physical activity for these athletes. In 1958, Dr. James N. Oliver conducted research in England. His study showed that physical exercise had positive effects on mental characteristics. Later, in 1964, Dr. Frank Hayden from Canada demonstrated the benefits of exercise. He believed these benefits would appear in all areas of an athlete's life. Hayden started a floor hockey program for individuals with intellectual disabilities in 1968. He also developed ideas for national games. His work eventually brought him to the attention of the Kennedy Foundation.

The first Special Olympics games were held on July 20, 1968. This event took place at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. About 1,000 athletes from the United States and Canada participated. Anne McGlone Burke, a physical education teacher, helped organize the event. She approached the Kennedy Foundation for funding in 1967. The foundation provided a grant of $25,000 to help expand the idea. The games were a joint venture between the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District. At the event, Eunice Kennedy Shriver announced the official formation of the organization.

Special Olympics has expanded significantly since its Chicago origins. The first World Winter Games occurred in 1977 in Steamboat Springs, Colorado. Austria hosted the first Winter Games outside the United States in 1993. In 2003, the Summer Games moved outside the U.S. for the first time to Dublin, Ireland. This event included 7,000 athletes from 150 countries. The 2003 games helped change how international society viewed the abilities of people with disabilities. In 2016, Mary Davis became the first CEO from outside the United States. She is currently leading the organization's global efforts.

Beyond sports, the organization provides vital health services. The Healthy Athletes program was launched as an official initiative in 1997. It offers health information and screenings to athletes worldwide. By 2010, this program had provided free screenings to over 1 million people. In 2004, the U.S. passed the Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act. This law authorized funding for Healthy Athletes and educational programs. The organization also uses a special logo to represent its mission. The logo is based on a sculpture by Zurab Tsereteli. It features a stick figure designed to show movement, growth, and joy.