Michelle Obama kicks off Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles

By Hishan Welmilla

US First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles on Saturday, welcoming thousands of intellectually-disabled athletes.

“To all of our athletes, I just want you to know that all those people won’t just be cheering for you, they’re going to be learning from you,” the First Lady told the cheering crowd during the opening ceremony. “You’re filling us with so much hope and you’re uniting us in a way that nothing else can.”

The roughly 6,500 athletes travelled to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum from 165 countries.

“My husband and I, we are so proud of you, so incredibly proud of you, and we love you all from the bottom of our hearts,” Michelle Obama said. She said the athletes were an example to the millions of people watching the event on television.

President Obama, who is currently traveling in Africa, greeted the athletes on a taped video.

“Where some see limitation, you see opportunity. You represent the very best of the human spirit,” said president.

The first medals of the 2015 Special Olympics World Games will be awarded on Sunday, one day after first lady Michelle Obama officially opened Los Angeles’ largest sporting event since the 1984 Summer Olympics.

The first medal event is track and field’s 10,000 meters at USC’s Loker Stadium. Medals will also be awarded in triathlon, which will be held in Long Beach and in swimming at USC’s Uytengsu Aquatics Centre.

Competition is also scheduled in bocce, badminton, roller skating, table tennis, team handball, (all at the Los Angeles Convention Centre); bowling at the Lucky Strike Lanes at L.A. Live; rhythmic gymnastics; soccer; softball, tennis and volleyball at UCLA; basketball at USC; beach volleyball and open water swimming at Alamitos Beach in Long Beach; and soccer at the Balboa Sports Centre in Encino.

About 6,500 athletes from 165 countries streamed into the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to cheers and roars. The athletes will participate in 25 sports over nine days, ranging from weightlifting to the triathlon.

LA also hosted the Special Olympics in 1972.

The three-hour ceremony, broadcast on ESPN, included Special Olympians at every level. Global ambassadors partnered with celebrities onstage and TV commentators.

There were fireworks and musical performances by Avril Lavigne, Stevie Wonder, Colombian reggaeton artist J. Balvin and others.

The games were the brainchild of President John Kennedy’s sister Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who held informal backyard competitions at her home before deciding to take the competition international in 1968. She said she believed everybody should have a chance to feel special.