Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in 172 countries. Special Olympics competitions are held daily, all around the world—including local, national and regional competitions, adding up to more than 100,000 events a year. Like the International Paralympic Committee, the Special Olympics organization is recognized by the International Olympic Committee; however, unlike the Paralympic Games, its World Games are not held in the same year nor in conjunction with the Olympic Games.
Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver was an American philanthropist. Shriver was a member of the Kennedy family by birth, and a member of the Shriver family through her marriage to Sargent Shriver, who was the United States Ambassador to France and the final Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States in 1972. She was a sister of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, and U.S. Ambassador to Ireland Jean Kennedy Smith.
Robert Sargent Shriver Jr. was an American diplomat, politician, and activist. He was a member of the Shriver family by birth, and a member of the Kennedy family through his marriage to Eunice Kennedy. Shriver was the driving force behind the creation of the Peace Corps, and founded the Job Corps, Head Start, VISTA, Upward Bound, and other programs as the architect of the 1960s War on Poverty. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for vice president in the 1972 presidential election.
Maria Owings Shriver is an American journalist, author, a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, former First Lady of California, and the founder of the nonprofit organization The Women's Alzheimer's Movement. She was married to former governor of California and actor Arnold Schwarzenegger, from whom she filed for divorce in 2011; it was finalized in 2021.
Timothy Perry Shriver is an American disability rights activist, film producer, and former educator who has been Chairman of Special Olympics since 1996 and is the founder of UNITE. He is a member of the prominent Shriver and Kennedy families, as the third child of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and Sargent Shriver, who helped found the Peace Corps.
Anthony Paul Kennedy Shriver is an American activist for people with intellectual disabilities. In 1989, he founded Best Buddies International, an international organization that helps people with intellectual disabilities to find employment and social opportunities. Through his mother, he is a nephew of World War II casualty Joseph P. Kennedy Jr., President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, and Senator Ted Kennedy.
The ESPY Awards is an annual American awards show produced by ESPN since 1993, recognizing individual and team athletic achievement and other sports-related performance during the calendar year preceding a given annual ceremony. From 2015 to 2019, and since 2021, the ceremony has aired live on sister broadcast television network ABC, while ESPN continues to air them in the form of replays. Because of the ceremony's rescheduling prior to the 2002 iteration thereof, awards presented in 2002 were for achievement and performances during the seventeen-plus previous months. As the similarly styled Grammy, Emmy, Academy Award, and Tony, the ESPYs are hosted by a contemporary celebrity; the style, though, is lighter, more relaxed and self-referential than many other awards shows, with comedic sketches usually included.
The 1968 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Soldier Field, Chicago, Illinois, United States, on July 20, 1968. Some of the smaller indoor events were held in the Conrad Hilton Hotel on Michigan Avenue. The event was co-sponsored by the Chicago Park District and the Joseph P. Kennedy Jr. Foundation.
The Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium is a stadium in Brockport, New York. Located on the campus of State University of New York College at Brockport it is primarily used by the Brockport Golden Eagles. The stadium holds 11,000 people and was built in 1979. It was originally built for the 1979 Special Olympics World Summer Games that were held in Brockport. Brockport's American football, field hockey, men's and women's soccer, lacrosse and outdoor track and field teams host their home games at Eunice Kennedy Shriver Stadium. The Rochester River Dogz FC soccer club played here in 2016.
The Arthur Ashe Courage Award is presented as part of the ESPY Awards. It is named for the American tennis player Arthur Ashe. Although it is a sport-oriented award, it is not limited to sports-related people or actions, as it is presented annually to individuals whose contributions "transcend sports". According to ESPN, the organization responsible for giving out the award, "recipients reflect the spirit of Arthur Ashe, possessing strength in the face of adversity, courage in the face of peril and the willingness to stand up for their beliefs no matter what the cost". The award was presented as part of the ESPY Awards ceremony at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles from 2008 to 2019. The 2020 ESPYs ceremony was held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Ashe Award being one of the few awards presented, and the 2021 ceremony was held in New York City.
Special Olympics Canada is a national organization founded in 1969 to help people with intellectual disabilities develop self-confidence and social skills through sports training and competition.
The 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games were held in Shanghai, China.
David Lenz is an American portrait painter.
Amy Palmiero-Winters is a below-knee amputee, long-distance runner, and triathlete. She holds eleven world records in various events. In 2010, she was awarded the James E. Sullivan Award as the top amateur athlete in the United States and the ESPN ESPY Award as the top female athlete with a disability in the world.
Martin E. Sullivan was a museum director, and served as Director of the United States National Portrait Gallery, administered by the Smithsonian Institution, from 2008 to 2012.
Jean Ann Kennedy Smith was an American diplomat, activist, humanitarian, and author who served as United States Ambassador to Ireland from 1993 to 1998. She was a member of the Kennedy family, the eighth of nine children, and youngest daughter, born to Joseph P. Kennedy Sr. and Rose Fitzgerald. Her siblings included President John F. Kennedy, Senator Robert F. Kennedy, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Rosemary Kennedy, and Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver. She was also a sister-in-law of Jacqueline Kennedy.
Chloe Kim is an American snowboarder and two-time Olympic gold medalist. At the 2018 Winter Olympics, she became the youngest woman to win an Olympic snowboarding gold medal when she won gold in the women's snowboard halfpipe at 17 years old.
Margaret Mary Nichols is an American former collegiate artistic gymnast. She was the ninth NCAA gymnast to complete a Gym Slam, the first to do so for Oklahoma, and the first NCAA gymnast to have achieved it twice.
The 2017 ESPY Awards were presented at the 25th annual ESPY Awards show, held on July 12, 2017 at 5 pm Pacific at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California and on television nationwide in the United States on ABC at 8 pm Eastern/7 pm Central. On May 16, 2017, it was announced by ESPN.com that Peyton Manning would host the show. 33 competitive awards were presented, along with several honorary awards.
The 2022 ESPY Awards was the 30th annual ceremony of the ESPY Award, held on July 20, 2022, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, and broadcast on ABC. NBA player Stephen Curry served as the host.
