SPECIAL OLYMPICS REPORT: Special Olympics underway in Berlin
WITH DINEO TSHOSA
With the torch lit, the flag raised, and The President of the Federal Republic of Germany, Frank-Walter Steinmeier having uttered the famous words; 'I hereby declare the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 officially opened,” the Games are now officially underway and most of the sports events are already in full swing.
The official opening ceremony which was held under the theme #Unbeatable together was graced by more than 50 000 attendants at the Olympic Stadium on 17th June 2023. The stadium roared, with hardly anyone staying in their seats as they danced to the official song of the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 by the Norwegian duo, Madcon, Are you ready? It was as if the duo was asking the audience if they were ready to witness the talent of the 7000 Special Olympics athletes and they responded by standing together with the athletes, ready for the nine days of thrills, and inclusive revolution. With the history of segregation, Germany has embraced the inclusion call. Different towns across the country assigned delegations for a week of interactive activities with the locals, making the Games the biggest inclusive event in history.
The athletes’ parade ranged from small delegation of just 2 athletes from each country: Belize, Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Gambia, Guinea, Nauru, Palau and St. Maarten, to the largest delegation of 573 from the host country, Germany. The youngest athlete in the Games is 12 years old with the oldest turning 70 this year. Botswana has a delegation of 36 athletes forming two teams of volleyball, four in athletics, and two in bocce. Among the keynote speakers during the official opening ceremony were Mark Solomeyer (athlete speaker), Christiane Krajewski (President Special Olympics Germany), Kai Wegner (Mayor of Berlin), Nancy Faeser (Federal Minister of the Interior and for Homeland) and the chairman of Special Olympics International Board of Directors, Tim Shriver.
The first winner of the World Games is Cheuk In Wai from Hong Kong, who scooped Gold in rhythmic gymnastics. Team Africa has already registered their win with South Africa and Kenya registering two and one medal respectively. What is important to note is that Special Olympics is not just about winning or losing, but much more about coming together with other athletes and seizing the opportunity to enjoy participating in, and learning from sport hence over and above the traditional medals for the top 3 positions, everyone that participates also gets rewarded. Therefore, the athletes that are not part of the top three medalists receive award ribbons during the medal ceremony. Furthermore, during the Games, a total of 16 sports will be played by Unified teams (Unified Sports), meaning athletes with and without intellectual disabilities compete together in a sport as a way of promoting inclusion.
Parallel to the Games, there are also ongoing conferences, and one of them, 'Levelling the playing field', brought together champions of inclusion in a panel discussion under the theme: A girl’s place in an inclusive playing field. The objective of the session was to deliberate on ways of enhancing the lives of girls and women in sports. Among the panelists was the newly appointed Global athlete chair, and the first female athlete to be the athlete chair and be on the SOI board of directors. The Berlin Games have witnessed greater female athletes’ participation to date with about 48.1% participation of female athletes.