Today, in the year 1968, with the full backing of Eunice Kennedy Shriver and her husband, Sargent Shriver, the sister and brother in law of President John F. Kennedy, the Special Olympics was created as a way for intellectually disabled people of all ages to compete in all kinds of athletic events and competitions!
Tim Shriver, the son of Eunice and Sargent Shriver, today heads the Special Olympics, which represents more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries.
Of course, the Special Olympics could not be as successful as they are, without the contribution of volunteers and sponsors in the United States and all over the world!
There are over 30 Olympic type individual and team sports that provide meaningful training and opportunities for competition.
With both Eunice Kennedy Shriver and Sargent Shriver having now passed away, the great work of the Special Olympics continues to move forward in honor of their founders in the late 1960s!