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The Art of Sport
Arthur Choga
TEAM Zimbabwe returned from the recent Special Olympics World Games bearing special gifts.
The Games were hosted in Berlin, Germany, from June 17 to 29.
This week, we celebrate the women, men and children who make Special Olympics a success.
Sometimes, the efforts they make are underappreciated.
The Zimbabwe team brought home eight medals: two gold, two silver and four bronze.
Tinaye Hlabangezi scooped gold in athletics and Tariro Mutosvori won gold in bocce.
Daniel Musekiwa and Lloyd Dube won silver in unified golf, with Brenda Gambiza winning silver in athletics.
Faith Mavunga and Hilda Kamalizeni won bronze in unified golf.
Similarly, Sharon Gosa and Kaylynn Chikara won a bronze medal each.
In addition, Angeline Goremusandu won bronze in bocce.
The slogan for the Games was “#UnbeatableTogether”, which represented “togetherness and overcoming borders collectively”.
I had the opportunity to learn about the Special Olympics decades ago as a young journalist.
Back then, I remember being introduced to bocce by a very patient lady, who showed a lot of passion and was so much invested in Special Olympics that I immediately became interested.
There were 26 events at this year’s Games.
Zimbabwe was able to take part in only a few. As is often the case, funding seemed to have been an issue.
The dedicated volunteers and corporate partners who champion this incredible work have put much of their lives, passion, funds and dreams into building the Special Olympics reality in Zimbabwe — and they have every right to celebrate the medals the team won.
Here is a snapshot of the Special Olympics World Games.
There were 6 500 athletes at these Games, including 3 000 coaches and support staff.
Nine thousand family members attended the event, which also had 1 100 referees.
Overall, 4 002 medals (for first to third place) were won, as were 6 670 ribbons (for fourth to eighth place).
A cumulative 100 000 tickets were sold for the competition.
Further, there were 71 translators for plain language.
The major highlight for me were the 18 000 volunteers from 126 countries.
“Our volunteers in their distinctive purple shirts were everywhere. Without them, the Special Olympics World Games would not have been such a great success for everyone. Therefore, they deserve a huge thank you!” said the Games organisers on their website.
“No matter in which area our volunteers were active and where they came from, they all had one thing in common: the enthusiasm for meeting athletes from all over the world and their commitment to inclusion.”
In a notable gesture, Zimbabwe’s Ambassador to Germany Alice Mashingaidze organised a reception for the Special Olympics team and regularly checked on them.
The Special Olympics is the world’s largest sports organisation for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to five million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries.
Special Olympics competitions are held every day, all around the world. They include local, national and regional contests, adding up to more than 100 000 events a year.
Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organisation is recognised by the International Olympic Committee.
However, unlike the Paralympic Games, Special Olympics World Games are not held in the same year nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
The Special Olympics World Games is a major event organised by the Special Olympics Committee.
The World Games alternate between summer and winter games in two-year cycles, recurring every fourth year.
The first edition of the Games was held on July 20, 1968, in Chicago, Illinois, the United States, with about 1 000 athletes from the US and Canada.
At those first Games, honorary event chairperson Eunice Kennedy Shriver announced the formation of the Special Olympics organisation. International participation expanded in subsequent Games.
In 2003, the first summer Games held outside the US were in Dublin, Ireland, with 7 000 athletes from 150 countries.
The 2019 World Summer Games were held in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, from March 14 to 21, 2019.
This was the first Special Olympics World Games to be held in the Middle East.
The 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Berlin, Germany.
This was the first time for Germany to host the Special Olympics World Games.
They pulled out all the stops, with a beautiful opening ceremony graced by Special Olympics stars, including German basketball legend Dirk Nowitzki — National Basketball Association (NBA) Most Valuable Player in 2007 and NBA Champion in 2011.
It is an area where local sports and arts stars could take a leaf and continue to engage and inspire Special Olympics athletes.
Each one of us can consider how we can play a part in building the Special Olympics dream.
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