The Berlin Games, held from 17 to 25 June 2023, were the world’s largest inclusive sporting event with more than 6,500 Special Olympics athletes with intellectual disabilities from 178 delegations competing in the German capital for the first time in the movement’s history. . One year later, five athletes look back and tell their stories in a series highlighting the transformative impact of the Games.
across the series, Great Britain’s Special Olympics soccer player Bradley Stewart, German track and field athlete Tamara Roske, Italian swimmer Anita Greco, Irish golfing twins Trudi and Sarah Hyland, and Spanish basketball player Andrea Ballesta Casteltorte reveal how the Games have impacted their lives and the lives of their lives. Families and communities. Bradley, Tamara and Anita’s stories were created thanks to funding from the European Union.
Talk before series “This fantastic series featuring athletes from across our region highlights the power of the Special Olympics experience and the way it can Our Games Can Move People to Action for Positive Social Change The series shows that games provide not only the short-term highs of happiness in the exhilarating moments of an opening ceremony or the thrill of excelling on a world stage, but also a sustained sense of pride, confidence and solidarity that stays with them long after. Coming Home These athletes and their families came away from the Games excited to bring our mission to more communities across Europe and Eurasia – looking forward to highlighting how our Games lead to big action to make inclusion a reality for all.
Tamara’s story: “Thanks to the World Games, Tamara has become a role model.”
Model, actress and clarinetist Tamara Roske from Stuttgart, who is also a talented Special Olympics German track and field athlete, was determined to prove something in Berlin. “I want to show everyone what I can do,” she said. Her coach, Natja Stockhouse, has noticed how Tamara’s fellow athletes have looked up to her since her return from the Games: “Now, due to the success at the World Games, she (Tamara) has become a role model for others in our sports group.”
Bradley’s story: “If I hadn’t gone to the World Games, I don’t think I would have ever had a job.”
Bradley, a Special Olympics soccer player from Essex in Great Britain, underscores the transformative impact sport has had on his identity. “If I had never started playing soccer, I don’t think I would be who I am today. I think I would be in my room not I do anything really. He is now a bronze medalist from the Berlin Olympics and works at the Screwfix tool and accessories business. Bradley attributes his new job to the social confidence he gained at the World Games), I don’t think I would have had a job at Launch.
Anita’s story: “It was the most intense experience of her life from the moment she was born.”
Anita, who trained amid the natural splendor of Lake Como in Italy, shares her love of the open water. In an honest revelation, Anita and her family expressed that the Berlin Games were not just a competition, but an experience like no other, “the most intense of her life from the moment she was born.” Her mother adds: “I matured a lot in Berlin. She feels like she can do things on her own now.
Sarah and Trudy’s story: “They were so proud, and we are so proud of them.”
Special Olympics golf duo Sarah and Trudy Hyland returned from the Berlin Games to their hometown of Cove, County Cork, as celebrities with hundreds of people lining the streets to welcome them back. “We couldn’t go to the airport without journalists following us,” Sarah says happily. The pride the community feels when they return from Berlin is palpable. “They were so proud, and we are so proud of them,” says their coach Nuala Lydon.
Andrea’s story: “I had a very special experience as a person and as a player.”
For Andrea Ballista Casteltorte, who lives in Barcelona, the Berlin Games continued a journey that began at the 2019 Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi. “I had a very special experience as a person and as an athlete,” she says. It was a very difficult competition as well, highlighting the relationship with other countries and the atmosphere of friendship that prevails in the Spanish national team.
, athletes from across Europe reflect on the impact that the Games had on their lives through a series of five compelling videos.){kind=link}