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Special Olympics is an international non-profit organisation dedicated to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.
Special Olympics is an unprecedented global movement which, through quality sports training and competition, improves the lives of people with intellectual disabilities and, in turn, the lives of everyone they touch.
Inspired by her sister's intellectual disability, Special Olympics International was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in 1968 following an Olympic-style competition in Chicago's Soldier Field. This event represented the first International Special Olympics Games with 1,000 athletes taking part from 26 states competing in athletics, floor hockey and aquatics.
Special Olympics Great Britain was established in 1978 and currently serves over 8,000 athletes who take part in year-round sports training and competition programmes. SOGB is a registered charity, which currently receives no government funding Support for Special Olympics globally continues to thrive - stars such as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Jackie Chan, Bianca Jagger and Jon Bon Jovi have lent their name as ambassadors to Special Olympics internationally. Leading British personalities and sporting figures such as Martin Johnson, David James, Darren Campbell and Gary Lineker have announced their support for Special Olympics in Great Britain.
The Special Olympics National and World Summer and Winter Games alternate bi-annually with the last World Summer Games held in Shanghai, China in 2007, attracting more than 7,500 athletes and an astonishing 40,000 volunteers.
