U.S.-China Issues

2007 Special Olympics World Games Touches Down in Shanghai

President Bush, joined by police officers and Special Olympians, welcomes the "Flame of Hope" to the White House. (© AP Images)

Event serves cause of people with disabilities, Chinese President Hu Jintao says

Washington -- When 7,500 athletes from 160 countries descended on China's Shanghai Stadium to compete in the Special Olympics Summer Games October 2, few participants had more on their mind than winning.

There are the friendships that will last a lifetime and the sense of independence that the athletes take home with them when the games are over, but what they want are the medals, says Ernestine Dickerson, whose daughter Karen Dickerson, 21, won a bronze medal in distance running in the 2003 Special Olympics in Ireland.

“In the local games, when the Special Olympics kids make it 10 meters, everyone is happy because it is more about the experience and about making friends than it is about winning,” Dickerson said. “When an athlete stands out and competes at the national level, it’s about winning.” 

The Special Olympics is an international organization dedicated to empowering individuals -- including children -- with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition, according to Bob Gobrecht, managing director for Special Olympics North America. The nongovernmental organization (NGO) sponsors year-round training and competition in 30 Olympic-type summer and winter sports for 2.25 million persons with intellectual disabilities in more than 165 countries. (See related article.)

Karen Dickerson, of Special Olympics Virginia, is one of 11 Special Olympic athletes with the Global Law Enforcement Final Leg Torch Runners who carried the Flame of Hope, lit on June 29 in Greece, to China on September 25. The torch runners raced through the streets of Beijing and Shanghai to raise awareness of the Special Olympics Summer Games, which end on October 11.

An injury during the 2003 games prevented Dickerson from competing in track and field events in 2007, but she is thrilled to be a torch runner and traveling to Shanghai on her own, Ernestine Dickerson told USINFO. Her daughter, who works in the café at a grocery store in Fairfax, Virginia, competes regularly in both the Boston and the Marine Corps marathons, and she is an avid cross-country skier.

The Shanghai Special Olympics marks the first time the World Summer Games have been held in Asia and only the second time the event has been hosted outside the United States. In addition to almost 7,500 athletes, Special Olympics expects the 2007 World Summer Games to draw 40,000 volunteers, 3,500 event officials and thousands of families, spectators and journalists.

Special Olympics and Paralympics are two separate organizations recognized by the International Olympic Committee. The International Paralympic Committee is the international organization of elite sports for athletes with physical disabilities. Although Special Olympics encourages athletes to train competitively, the official Athlete’s Oath encourages sportsmanship and applauds effort: “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

“The Shanghai Games will greatly enhance the global cause of people with disabilities and promote the mutual understanding and friendship among Special Olympics athletes and people of all countries,” Chinese President Hu Jintao said at a reception in Shanghai on October 2. The reception was attended by world leaders and Special Olympics International Chairman Timothy Shriver and Honorary Chairperson Eunice Kennedy Shriver.

Special Olympic athletes will compete in 25 Olympic-type and demonstration sports, including aquatics, badminton, basketball, bowling, cricket, cycling, dragon-boat racing, golf, gymnastics, judo, kayaking, roller skating, football (soccer), sailing, softball, tennis and volleyball.  According to officials, athletes not competing in the World Games serve as assistant coaches and commentators in Shanghai.

The Global Torch Run is a pivotal event in the lead-up to the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. While the Torch Run has been a Special Olympics tradition for more than 25 years, the Shanghai Games marks the first time the Flame of Hope has traveled the globe in a single event. The flame was transported by the company DHL, which sponsors the Torch Run, and was carried by teams of athletes and law enforcement officers in Athens; Alexandria and Cairo, Egypt; London; Washington; and Seoul, South Korea, over three months before arriving in Shanghai, where it ignited the cauldron at the opening ceremony of the 2007 World Games on October 2. (See related article.)

The Torch Run was founded in 1981 by then Wichita, Kansas, Police Chief Richard LaMunyon to increase awareness of the Special Olympics. The program later was adopted by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and has expanded into 50 U.S. states and to 35 nations. More than 85,000 law enforcement officers from around the world volunteer for the Torch Run, and 103 officers traveled to Shanghai for the final leg of the run.

Additional information on the 2007 Shanghai Special Olympics and the 2007 Law Enforcement Torch Run is available on the Special Olympics Web site. University of Wisconsin-Stout Police Chief Lisa Walter’s blog on the China leg of the Torch Run helped keep Dickerson and other Special Olympics athletes’ families informed.

(USINFO is produced by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)