In less than four years, Los Angeles will welcome more than 7000 Special Olympics athletes from 170 nations to compete in 21 Olympic-type sports.  The Special Olympics World Summer Games will return to the United States after 16 years, having last been held in the United States in 1999 in Raleigh, North Carolina. The most recent World Summer Games were the 2011 Games that recently concluded in July in Athens, Greece. The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games are expected to bring more than a half-million people to the greater Los Angeles area and will be held in summer 2015 (specific dates still to be announced).

“On behalf of our entire Special Olympics movement worldwide, I am thrilled to award our 2015 World Games to Los Angeles,” said Dr. Timothy P. Shriver, Chairman and CEO of Special Olympics. “Bringing our World Games to a city as powerful and prominent on the world stage as Los Angeles will allow our Special Olympics athletes to showcase their talents and demonstrate to the world the best in sports.”

At a press event at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles today a memorandum of agreement was signed by Shriver and Patrick McClenahan, Chairman of the Los Angeles Bid Committee, who now transitions to become the President &CEO of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games Organizing Committee.

“In a city full of movie stars and all-stars, our Special Olympics athletes will be the stars of this show as they demonstrate their skills, courage and joy.  Los Angeles will provide the world stage necessary to create the awareness that leads to increased acceptance and inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities throughout Southern California, the nation and the world,” said McClenahan.

Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was also in attendance at today’s event and said, “We are thrilled and honored to be selected as the international city to host the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games and look forward to showcasing the remarkable skills and inspiring passion of Special Olympics athletes.” 

Along with Shriver, McClenahan and Villaraigosa, others who gave remarks at today’s Special Olympics press conference included: Loretta Claiborne, Special Olympics Athlete Spokesperson and member of  Special Olympics International Board of Directors Games Committee; Tim Leiweke, President and CEO of AEG; C.L.Max Nikias, President of the University of Southern California; Don Knabe, Los Angeles County Supervisor; and Rafer Johnson, Los Angeles’ own Olympic legend – 1960 Olympic Gold Medalist in the Decathlon – and Founder of Special Olympics Southern California.

The event was co-hosted byDonna DeVarona, Sports Broadcaster and Olympic Swimming Gold Medalist and Co-Chair, Special Olympics International Board of Directors Games Committee and Dustin Plunkett, Special Olympics Southern California athlete, International Global Messenger and member of the Los Angeles 2015 Games Bid Committee.The press event also featured a parade of nearly 20 Olympic legends and 20 Special Olympics athletes. 

Every two years, thousands of Special Olympics athletes worldwide come together to showcase their athletic skills and celebrate the spirit of Special Olympics, which celebrates nearly 50,000 events a year. The first Special Olympics World Games took place in 1968 and since then have evolved into a world-class sporting event, attracting a wide range of sponsors, supporters and media. Alternating between Summer Games and Winter Games, Special Olympics World Games bring public attention to the talents and capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities, helping to change attitudes and break down barriers that can exclude them from the mainstream of the community.

Special Olympics World Summer Games Athens 2011 were held in Greece, and the next Special Olympics World Games will be the 2013 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Korea.  The Special Olympics World Winter Games PyeongChang 2013 will be held from 26 January to 6 February 2013 in PyeongChang, Korea; more information can be found at www.2013SOPOC.org. For more information about Special Olympics World Summer Games Los Angeles 2015 please visit www.specialolympics.org and join the conversation on Twitter with hashtag #LA2015.

The power of the Special Olympics movement would not be possible without generous support from our corporate partners. Global corporate partners include: The Coca-Cola Company, The Procter & Gamble Company, Mattel, Inc. and the Mattel Children’s Foundation, and Hilton Worldwide. Lions Clubs International is also an official global partner of Special Olympics.

About Special Olympics
Special Olympics is an international organization that changes lives through the power of sport by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect worldwide. Founded in 1968 by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics movement has grown from a few hundred athletes to more than 3.7 million athletes in over 170 countries in all regions of the world, providing year-round sports training, athletic competition and other related programs. Special Olympics now takes place every day, changing the lives of people with intellectual disabilities c all over the world to community playgrounds and ball fields in every small neighborhood’s backyard. Special Olympics provides people with intellectual disabilities continuing opportunities to realize their potential, develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, and experience joy and friendship. Visit Special Olympics at www.specialolympics.org. Engage with us on: Twitter @specialolympics; fb.com/specialolympics; youtube.com/specialolympicshq, and specialolympicsblog.wordpress.com.

Now you can view all the high-resolution photos taken during our trip to Greece and order them for yourself. View photos here.

MUSIC 5.7 (8.06.2011)

In the early evening, everyone loaded buses and headed to Closing Ceremonies. The show featured lots of local entertainment, but the biggest attraction for some athletes was the opportunity to trade clothing items with athletes from other countries. Team USA’s Loudmouth houndstooth shorts were a hot item. By the time we left Closing Ceremonies, Team USA athletes and coaches were decked out in attire from Italy, Germany, Cyprus, Hungary, Australia, Russia and Greece. During the many musical performances, Team USA rushed to the bottom of the grandstands for an impromptu dance party. The ceremony also featured a preview of South Korea, the site of the 2013 World Winter Games. As the ceremony drew to a close, many athletes suddenly realized that this amazing journey was about to end, and tearful hugs broke out across the stadium. 

Team USA headed back to their respective hotels for a late-night dinner, then went to bed for a few short hours before heading to the airport. Everyone loaded onto two airplanes and took off for the United States early Tuesday morning. During a refueling stop in Shannon, Ireland, Team USA was met with banners, balloons and goodie bags from the airport staff. Passengers from the first flight were also cheered through the airport by more than 300 U.S. military servicemen and women who happened to be there at the same time. The athletes showed off their medals and ribbons, then cheered as the servicemen loaded their own aircraft and departed. Shortly before each flight landed in Baltimore, pillow fights broke out on the planes with athletes and coaches alike tossing the small airline pillows around the cabins.

Upon arrival in Baltimore, a crew of local fans cheered as Team USA exited the airport. Back at the hotel, the team was treated to an all-American buffet of corn on the cob, potato salad, hamburgers and ice cream. Despite the long travel day, athletes packed the dance floor for one last chance to socialize with their teammates. Miss America, Teresa Scanlan, was on hand to sign autographs and take photos with the athletes. Several teams had meetings to share their memories and say final goodbyes.

Delegations will continue their trip home Wednesday. We’ll post an announcement on the Team USA website once we have word that all members have reached their final destination.

Thank you for being a fan of Team USA!

• View official results here. You can search by athlete name or click on Team USA.
• Check out more photos on our website and Facebook page. We will continue to add photos as we process them. In particular, there is an entire album of gymnastics photos that will be uploaded.
• Do you have a favorite memory or photo from World Games? Share it with other fans on our Facebook page.

Tennis players had some very tough matches. John Doring earned a gold medal.

Both Volleyball teams won their games, earning gold medals! Texas beat Austria, while Alabama beat Turkey. Both teams were undefeated in competition play during the World Games.

Sailing was “nothing short of fantastic,” according to coach Jack Yoes. Six of our seven teams earned medals, and everyone had a great time. Ledwidge/Johnsen earned silver, Brown/Jones earned gold, Heins/Stines earned silver, Smurlo/Connolly earned bronze, Cameron/Hoight earned bronze, Bertucci/Bertucci earned silver and Dietrich/Battista earned 5th place.

Bowling Team 5 earned 4th place ribbons and Team 3 earned 6th place ribbons. They participated in a Unity Sports Event, featuring Team USA athletes Patrick Underly, Mitchell Isham and Jackie Fuller.

The Basketball team played an exhibition game against the Unity team, which included Sam Perkins and Dikembe Mutombo. Team USA won the game.

Equestrian athletes completed team relays on Sunday. Rashawn Young and Wallace Gamble earned gold. Meghen Blumberg and her partner from Team Ireland earned silver.

Bocce has concluded at the 2011 World Games! After today’s doubles play, all Team USA bocce players will bring home a medal! They concluded doubles play with two gold medals, five silver medals, one bronze and three fifth place entries. Final results for doubles can be found here. Sunday evening, the team took advantage of some time at the hotel and began trading some of their Team USA gear with other countries. During the day Monday, those who haven’t seen the Acropolis will head out in the morning, while others will either shop or stick around the hotel. 

Cyclists Amanda Mickan and Syd Lea wrapped up competition with distance races on Sunday. Amanda earned a bronze medal for her 25K race, and Syd earned gold for the 40K race.

Athletes really stepped up for the final day at the Track. Three athletes achieved personal bests despite not feeling well. Karen Dickerson earned gold in the half marathon, and James Holder earned bronze. Mary Lou Nachtwey earned a gold medal in the 800-meter walk, and Mary Beth Hawley earned silver. In the mini javelin, Abe Assaad and Stacey Stevenson earned gold, while Dave DeFino earned silver. Louie Perry earned a gold medal for the 1500-meter run.  Ryan Barts earned a silver medal in the long jump, and Jake Kaufman earned a silver in the 100-meter run. Michelle Moseley had a personal best, however, it was such an improvement over her preliminary score that she exceeded the 15% rule and was disqualified. The team celebrated by visiting the Acropolis.

The heavyweights lifted Sunday at Powerlifting. Brady Tanner earned three gold medals and one silver. Daniel Hester earned four bronze medals. John Yates earned one gold medal and three silver. Jermaine Edie earned two silver medals and two 4th place ribbons. Anthony Madaris earned four 4th place ribbons.

Shailah Brousseau closed out Team USA’s Gymnastics competition Sunday morning.  She received three bronze medals and two 4th place ribbons.  She did a fantastic job and it turned out to be a great day. The team returned to the gym at 5 pm for a Gym Show, which was fantastic.

It was a short but busy day at Aquatics. Athletes completed relays, 400-meter freestyle races and 200-meter breast stroke races. Among the awards were Chris McMullen with a gold, Alex Hayes with a silver, Mason Coad with a gold and Kevin Zwart with a gold on his 22nd birthday!

Monday, Team USA will attend Closing Ceremonies. www.espn3.com will stream the ceremony live on their website starting at 1:30 pm EST. There will be no Team USA update until we return to Baltimore on Tuesday.

Links:

• View official results here. You can search by athlete name or click on Team USA. While this site is being updated frequently, it is not live.
• View more photos on our website and Facebook page.

Team Div   Match 1 Match 2 Match 3 Match 4 Match 5 Result
USA 1 (McKeon / Altman) M08 W 9-4 L 10-3 W 6-2  L 7-3    Silver Medal!
USA 2 (Boehme / Collins) M14 L 10-2 L 5-4      5th Place!
USA 3 (Bunszel / Westrope) F06 W 11-1 W 6-5 W 13-1    Gold Medal!
USA 4 (Cavanaugh / Johnson) M01 W 12-7 L 9-3 L 12-4   Bronze Medal!
USA 5 (DeVries / Holmes) M09 W 12-2  W 9-3  W 13-2    Gold Medal!
USA 6 (Ervin / Reeves) M06 L 9-4 L 10-4       5th Place!
USA 7 (Floyd / Guseman) M05 W 6-4 W 12-0 L 7-7  L 12-3   Bronze Medal!
USA 8 (Gorski / Nykiel) M09 L 12-2  L 7-6        5th Place!
USA 9 (Lew / Prettyman) F07 W 6-3 L 6-4 W 9-8 L 12-3   Silver Medal!
USA 10 (Ruley / Swain) F06 L 8-2 W 12-0 W 6-2 W 8-4 L 13-1 Silver Medal!
USA 11 (Wirsing / Westgate) L 7-3 W 9-3  W 7-4 W 11-2 L 8-1 Silver Medal!

The Basketball team collected their gold medals after scoring so high that they were placed in their own division. They will play an exhibition game against the Unity Sports Event team on Sunday at 4 pm.

It was a very close game, but the Softball team beat Russia for the second time in two days to secure the gold medal. The final score was 11-10. Six athletes participated in a Unity Sports Event after their big win. Celebrities included Sam Perkins, Tim Shriver and Joe Jonas.

Team USA Soccer pulled out a final win and also earned gold medals.

The Alabama Volleyball team defeated Japan on Saturday. They will play Turkey at 11:10 am Sunday. The Texas team is undefeated in medal round play. They will play for the gold medal on Sunday at 11:10 am.

Powerlifters had a busy day Saturday. Craig Maurer earned a gold, two silvers and a bronze. Carlos Henderson earned two silver medals and two participation ribbons. Elizabeth Kendall earned two silver medals and a 4th place ribbon. Angelo Mascheroni earned two gold medals, a silver medal and a 5th place ribbon. Chris Currere earned four 4th place ribbons. Powerlifting competition will wrap up Sunday with Brady Tanner and Daniel Hester at 9:30 am and Anthony Madaris, Jermaine Edie and John Yates at 1:30 pm.

Tennis completed doubles and awards on Saturday and began singles competition. Singles competition will continue Sunday at 9 am followed by awards. They will participate in a Unity Sports Event at noon.

The Gymnastics team went to cheer on the USA softball soccer teams Saturday.  The athletes really enjoyed cheering on the other Team USA athletes. After the game, they went to cheer on Danielle Blakeney for her Level 3 finals of rhythmic. She did an awesome job on all her routines and ended up medaling in all of her events - Danielle received three gold medals, one silver and one bronze.

The Golfers spent the day at the golf course receiving their awards before returning to the hotel, where an inpromptu trading session broke out with Australia and Canada. Now that competition and awards are finished, the golf team plans to travel to the Acropolis on Sunday and relax as they wind down before Closing Ceremonies and the return flight home to the United States. Click here for the full golf results.

It will be another busy day at the Track on Sunday. Competition starts at 9 am and includes the half marathon, female 800-meter walk, female long jump, male and female 1500-meter run, female 200-meter run, male and female javelin and male 100-meter run.

Equestrian athletes had a full house of awards on Saturday: Alexandra Pope earned a gold medal, Matt Schoenbauer earned silver, Matt Dull took home bronze and Meghen Blumberg received a 4th place ribbon. They will wrap up competition Sunday with team relays featuring Meghen Blumberg, Wallace Gamble and Rashawn Young.

Team USA’s Cyclists went the distance on Satuday, completing the 15K, 25K and 50K races. Syd Lea received a gold medal for his Friday race as well as for Saturday’s 25K. Jason Greenhalgh and Mark O’Brien earned silver and bronze respectively in the 50K race. Amanda Mickan received a 4th place ribbon for the 15K. After competition, the team visited the Acropolis and celebrated with a pizza party. They will wrap up competition on Sunday with Amanda’s 25K road race at 9 am and Syd’s 40K road race at 11 am, followed by a Unity Sports Event featuring Kenny Jones and Amanda.

It was a beautiful day for Sailing on Saturday. The teams will complete the final three races in competition on Sunday, followed by awards.

Aquatics athletes completed finals in the 200-meter backstroke and 100-meter breaststroke. Click here for a rundown of the results. They also finished prelims for the 4 x 50 relays. Sunday’s competition will wrap up with finals in the 400-meter freestyle, 50-meter butterfly, 200-meter breast stroke and the 4 x 50 relays.

Kayakers finished competition Saturday. U.S. Ambassador to Greece Daniel Smith presented the awards. Team USA earned a silver medal, two bronze and a 5th place ribbon in the 200-meter race.

Five of the seven Bowling teams competed Saturday. USA 3 earned gold medals, USA 1 earned silver, USA 5 earned bronze, and both USA 6 and USA 7 earned 4th place ribbons. The final two teams will compete on Sunday, followed by a Unity Sports Event at 1 pm featuring three Team USA bowlers.

Doubles competition started Saturday at the Bocce venue. Team USA took home a silver medal, two bronze and one 5th place ribbon.  Athletes who were not competing cheered on Team USA soccer and visited other sports venues at the OAKA complex. Seven teams will compete on Sunday and receive some of the final awards of World Games. Click here for the full rundown of Saturday’s competition and Sunday’s schedule. Jennifer Ruley will play and Greg Floyd will be an official for a Unity Sports Event at 5:30 pm.

200M Backstroke
Maria D’Andrea – gold medal
David Foust – bronze medal
Chris McMullen – gold medal

100M Breast stroke
Jennifer Bensman – silver medal
Kathie Herrera – silver medal
Cody Missimer – bronze medal
Jake Sawyer – 6th place ribbon
Kelly Shepherdson – participation ribbon