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Sports Offered
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Athletics |
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Athletics events offer a wide range, from the 100 meters and hurdle events to the marathon, from the high jump to the long jump, shot put, relays and wheelchair events.
In addition, Special Olympics offers events for lower ability level athletes to train and compete in basic athletics skills. The development of these key skills is necessary prior to advancing to longer competitive events.
Athletes can also participate in Unified Sports® relay events. Unified Sports® is a program that combines Special Olympics athletes and athletes without intellectual disabilities (partners) on sports teams for training and competition. On a Unified Relay team, a relay team would consist of two Special Olympics athletes and two partners.
As in all Special Olympics sports, athletes are grouped in competition divisions according to events, ability level, age and gender. |
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Athletics Facts
- Athletics was an event at the first Special Olympics International Games held in Chicago, Illinois in 1968.
- At the 1995 World Summer Games, the marathon was contested for the first time, producing a winning time of 2 hours, 59 minutes and 18 seconds.
- At the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Dublin, Ireland, 1,111 athletes from 148 programs competed in the sport of athletics. All seven Special Olympics regions worldwide were represented.
- Athletics is the most popular Special Olympics Minnesota sport, with 131 delegations participating in 2004. To see the list of delegations offering participation in athletics, click here.
- Participation in athletics at Summer Games held at the University of Minnesota Bierman Field has grown from 660 athletes in 1995 to 935 athletes in 2005. To find out more about the athletics competition at Summer Games, contact Pam Bergerson.
In addition to competition at Summer Games, athletes can compete in area athletics competitions in Area 1, Area 2, Area 3, Area 4, Area 5, Area 6, Area 7, Area 8 ,Area 9, Area 10, Area 11 and Area 12. |
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Special Olympics Minnesota Athletics Events
Track Events
100, 200, 400, 800 and 1,500 Meter
4 x 100 Traditional and Unified Relays
400, 800 and 1,500 Meter Walks
Field Events
High Jump
Running Long Jump
Shot Put
Multi-Event
Pentathlon (100 Meters, Long Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, 400 Meters)
Wheelchair Events
10 and 25 Meter Wheelchair
30 Meter Wheelchair Slalom
30 and 50 Meter Motorized Slalom
25 Meter Motorized Wheelchair Obstacle
100 Meter Wheelchair |
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