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Eunice Kennedy Shriver founded Special Olympics in 1968. She looked beyond the normalities of everyday life and worked to create new opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities. Shriver passionately believed that people with disabilities could participate and benefit from competitive sports. In her eyes, not one person should miss out on the opportunity to experience how exhilarating it is to train and learn to be a winner. She organized the first International Special Olympics Games in Chicago, in which 1,000 athletes from the United States, Canada, and France competed. In December of 1971, The United States Olympic Committee gave Special Olympics official approval to be one of only two organizations allowed to use the name “Olympics.” |
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“Eunice Kennedy Shriver will be remembered ... as an extraordinary woman who, as much as anyone, taught our nation - and our world - that no physical or mental barrier can restrain the power of the human spirit.” U.S. President Barack Obama |
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