Among the more
than 300 athletes and 125 coaches representing Team USA at this year’s Special
Olympics in Athens, Greece, will be Chelsea Wirsing of Boulder, Frank Ushiyama
of Longmont and Mai-Lin Hegel of Denver.
The athletes
will be departing from Denver International Airport Saturday, June 18, to
compete alongside 7,000 athletes from all over the world.
Wirsing
will be competing in bocce, Ushiyama in bowling and Hegel in aquatics.
This year marks
the 13th Special Olympics World Summer Games, and competitors from nearly 180
countries will be participating in the event, which will be taking place from
June 25 through July 4, according to a Special Olympics Colorado news release. Team
USA will be competing in 22 Olympic-type sports.
Founded in 1968
by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the Special Olympics games strive to create a world
of inclusion and acceptance, according to the release. The games bring public
attention to the capabilities of people with intellectual disabilities to work
to break down the barriers that have excluded them from the mainstream
community.
More information
on Special Olympics Team USA can be found at http://bit.ly/jRf8WW.
