“I will win. But even if I can’t win, I will continue to challenge without losing my courage.”
The Special Olympics, a sports festival for people with develop안전놀이터mental disabilities around the world famous for such an athlete oath, kicks off two days later on the 17th (local time).
The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports festival for people with developmental disabilities where athletes with developmental disabilities participate. Since the first world championship was held in Chicago in 1968, summer and winter events have been held alternately every two years.
In December of last year, Special Olympics Korea completed the selection of 150 athletes to participate in the ‘2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games Berlin’ through a lottery from among the list of players selected according to the selection criteria through the Performance Improvement Committee.
The Korean team competes in golf, swimming, 3-person integrated basketball (male), integrated basketball (female), soccer (7-person integrated soccer (male), 7-person soccer (female)), volleyball, roller skating, track and field, and table tennis. , integrated badminton, weightlifting, bocce.
In May, the team completed preparations for the competition through adaptation training for 3 nights and 4 days in Inje, Gangwon-do.
After finishing the tempering, the team departed for Berlin via Incheon International Airport on the 12th to participate in the ‘2023 Berlin Special Olympics World Summer Games’.
The ‘2023 Berlin Special Olympics World Summer Games’ will be held in Berlin, Germany from June 12 to 26, and 7,000 athletes with developmental disabilities from 190 countries around the world will participate in 26 events.
Lee Yong-hun, chairman of Special Olympics Korea, who leads the team as the head of the event, said, “The Special Olympics is a place for people with developmental disabilities from all over the world to harmonize through sports, and it is a meaningful event where we can exchange with the athletes from around the world.” I hope it will be an opportunity for players to achieve new dreams and challenges.”
In addition to the athletes, Korea plans to send four mentees with developmental disabilities and one non-disabled mentor to the Global Athlete Congress (GAC) and the Global Youth Leadership Summit (GYLS) held locally.