As the Special Olympics World Games opened with the Opening Ceremony at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, former Dallas Mavericks star Dirk Nowitzki had a simple request: “Come out and support all the athletes.”
The former NBA basketball star wasn’t the only one to pledge his support to the Special Olympics athletes. The seven-time Formula 1 champion Lewis Hamilton also sent a message to the 7,000 Special Olympics athletes from 180 countries, in particular to the athletes from Great Britain. “It’s really amazing what you guys are capable of out there,” Hamilton said in a video message. “Just go out there, have the best time and enjoy it.”
As Hamilton suggests, “participation” is just as important, if not more important, than actual competition at the Special Olympics World Games: “I am enormously inspired and so proud of you all.”
Six million athletes worldwide
“It’s not about winning or losing, it’s about getting involved in the sport,” said Nowitzki. “It’s about athletes coming together and having the chance to play and learn from the sport, like I did,” said the 45-year-old after his visit to the German Special Olympics basketball team. “I am happy to experience this.”
Former NBA MVP Dirk (3rd from left) Nowitzki calls for more inclusion in popular sportsImage: Liu Yang/Xinhua/IMAGO
The former exceptional gymnast and five-time Romanian Olympic champion Nadia Comaneci is also enthusiastic – and not only about the athletes. “The Special Olympics isn’t just about one big event like Berlin, important as that is,” she recently wrote. “It’s also about the work that is done at the grassroots level, by coaches, trainers and those responsible.”
3,000 coaches are with the athletes in Berlin. But of course that’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the number of coaches who care for the six million athletes with intellectual disabilities worldwide who “use sport to create an inclusive world for people of all abilities.” , as Comaneci, a global ambassador for Special Olympics, wrote in a Laureus Sport for Good column.
Opening doors for athletes further
A member of the unofficial royal family of the United States is also among the stars supporting the Special Olympics in Berlin. Timothy Shriver, Chairman of Special Olympics, is a member of the Kennedy family. His mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, President John F. Kennedy’s younger sister, helped found Special Olympics.
Former superstar Nadia Comaneci is committed to people with intellectual disabilitiesImage: Dennis M. Sabangan/dpa/picture-alliance
Shriver told DW that he sees the games in Berlin primarily as a way for German and European sports clubs to further open their doors to Special Olympics. “We are very confident that this country will embrace the idea of Special Olympics as a challenge to become more inclusive in sports clubs and schools.”
Less than ten percent of the clubs offer sports for Special Olympics athletes. “I hope that the Special Olympics World Games will generate more awareness. We hope this message will resonate across Europe,” said Shriver. “People with intellectual disabilities have something unique to offer.”
Changing perceptions for athletes
As the athletes and Special Olympics message continue to resonate around the world, there is hope that events in Berlin can continue to change perceptions. “Let’s change public attitudes towards disability and Special Olympics,” tweeted Didier Drogba, the Ivory Coast’s former soccer star.
Like Nadia Comaneci, he is a global ambassador for Special Olympics. As has Irish golfer Padraig Harrington, American figure skater Michelle Kwan, Chinese tennis star Li-Na and a host of other stars from the sporting world.
Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton added: “I’m incredibly inspired and so proud of you all. I don’t think anyone can understand how hard the road has been for you all to get to where you are now. “
The text has been adapted from English