History of Special Olympics and Adaptive Sports
- Sam Shepherd
- Sep 23, 2024
- 4 min read
By Rowan Tipping
The Special Olympics, a world-renowned competition and event, accentuates adaptive sports and empowers millions of people with developmental disabilities to demonstrate their full potential to those who support them and those who might doubt them. Although the Special Olympics is now a household name for many, its origins are much more low-profile with it being tied back to a summer camp for those with intellectual disabilities in 1962, hosted by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of John F. Kennedy, at her home in Maryland. This camp helped guests explore and enhance their abilities in various sports and physical activities and is recognized as a precursor that inspired Shriver to start the Special Olympics [1]. Six years later, in 1968, Shriver, with support from both the Kennedy Foundation and the Chicago Park District held the first-ever Special Olympics at Soldier Field in Chicago with around 1,000 athletes participating, coming from 26 U.S. states and Canada [2]. To put the previous numbers in context, nowadays more than 1.3 individuals with developmental disabilities in more than 150 countries participate in the Special Olympics [1].
Eunice Kennedy Shriver opened up the first ever Special Olympics at Soldier Field with these words, “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt”, and these words live on in the form of the Special Olympics Athlete Oath. From there it began, the first games included 3 sports in around 200 events that included broad jump, high jump, 50-yard dash, softball throw, 25-yard swim, 100-yard swim; and water polo [8]. The most recent Special Olympics games was during the summer of 2023 and it was hosted in Berlin, Germany at the Olympiapark Berlin, it included 26 sports and around 330,000 non-participants attended to spectate the events with athletes from 176 nation participating [7]. These numbers and the different schedules as well as opportunities speak to the growth of the Special olympics from its beginning in 1968 to its most recent tournament in 2023.
The first Special Olympics was revolutionary as during the time a majority of individuals with intellectual disabilities in the United States were institutionalized [2]. Therefore, an event such as the Special Olympics offers an alternative to how society should treat those with intellectual disabilities and show what they can accomplish. This can be seen first in former Special Olympics athlete Marty Sheets, who sadly passed in 2015 but left a legacy of determination and advocacy. Marty's parents permitted a Smithsonian Curator, Jane Rogers, to collect from their son’s collection. One specific part of the collection that shows the Special Olympics effect on Marty’s life can be seen in notecards with speech notes written down for him. These speeches included words about his experience and love for sports as well as his appreciation for the Special Olympics for allowing him to compete in sports and to further prove that he could do a good job [3].
Another example of how the Special Olympics created change for those with developmental disabilities in the United States through adaptive sports can be seen in Special Olympics athlete Loretta Claiborne, who still competes today [4]. She was originally introduced to the Special Olympics by her school counselor after being bullied many times which led to physical outbursts. By being introduced to the Special Olympics, Claiborne was able to take that physical energy and put it toward sports, which led to her earning many medals and breaking records, proving that her determination is stronger than her disabilities [3]. Claiborne gives credit to the counselor as well as the Special Olympics commonly stating that if she were not introduced to the Special Olympics she would be, “in prison or six feet under” [4]. This shows the extent to which Claiborne feels that the Special Olympics benefited her life, and the opportunities in adaptive sports it has given her.
The Special Olympics has changed adaptive sports in our country, but its effects can also be seen globally. A perfect example of this can be seen in the remarks of the former Chief Legal Officer and Secretary of the Special Olympics, Angela Ciccolo when she discusses a situation about a young kid named Aaron with intellectual disabilities in Malawi who was tied to a tree by his parents as they saw that as a way to (in their eyes) ‘solve the problem’. After Special Olympics Malawi got involved, they were able to stop the parents from tying Aaron to a tree offering them resources, such as three visits a week from a specialist teacher and trained coach to help him learn skills and to make sure he is participating in training and competitions. After this involvement on the part of Special Olympics Malawi Aaron’s parents became ardent supporters of the Special Olympics movement, encouraging others in their community to not repeat similar practices that they previously did to Aaron [5]. This being just one case in one country one can only imagine how the Special Olympics has changed the lives of many people with developmental disabilities across the world.
Overall, the Special Olympics, originally in a national sense but now a global one as well, has been able to use adaptive sports to liberate those with developmental disabilities and give them both the opportunities and resources to have better lives. Being able to show the world that developmental disabilities will not kill the determination of attaining success whether it be winning medals or even exceeding your own expectations physically, and through that silencing doubt. The Special Olympics as an organization has been able to show the power adaptive sports has to change lives both in our country and abroad.
References:
[1] “Eunice Kennedy Shriver,” John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum, https://www.jfklibrary.org/learn/about-jfk/the-kennedy-family/eunice-kennedy-shriver.
[2] Kasey Haas, Special Olympics: An Emerging Player in the Sport for Development Field, October 2012, https://media.specialolympics.org/resources/sports-essentials/unified-sports/An-Emerging-Player-In-Sports-Development.pdf.
[3] Rogers, Jane. “Special Olympics at 50.” National Museum of American History, July 6, 2018, https://www.americanhistory.si.edu/explore/stories/special-olympics-50.
[4] Zacharias, Anna. “Special Olympics Hero Loretta Claiborne: ‘Thank You, UAE.’” The National, March 14, 2019, https://www.thenationalnews.com/uae/special-olympics/special-olympics-hero-loretta-claiborne-thank-you-uae-1.836745.
[5] Angela Ciccolo. “Remarks by Angela Ciccolo.” Proceedings of the Annual Meeting (American Society of International Law) 106 (2012): 102–5. https://doi.org/10.5305/procannmeetasil.106.0102.
[6] “1968 Games.” Special Olympics, November 4, 2020. https://www.specialolympics.org/about/history/1968-games.
[7] “Special Olympics Berlin: Some 330,000 People Attend.” Deustche Welle News, June 25, 2023. https://www.dw.com/en/special-olympics-berlin-some-330000-people-attend/a-66026827#:~:text=Some%20330%2C000%20people%20attended%20across,make%20the%20event%20run%20smoothly.
[8] “Out of the Shadows: Events Leading to the Founding of Special Olympics.” Special Olympics, September 13, 2018. https://www.specialolympics.org/about/history/out-of-the-shadows-events-leading-to-the-founding-of-special-olympics?locale=en.
