Special Olympics under way in Athens
| 11:21 UK time, Monday, 27 June 2011
It's all kicking off in Athens this week, and I'm not talking about banks or bail-outs. From the 25th of June until the fourth of July, the Greek capital plays host to the 13th .
The was founded by Eunice Kennedy Shriver, and the first games took place in Chicago in the summer of 1968. Today, over three million athletes are involved with Special Olympics sports training in 175 countries and compete at the summer and winter world games.
The motto for the Special Olympics is: "Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.".
This year, seven thousand athletes from 180 nations will be part of the event they're calling "the Olympics before the Olympics". 30 sports will be represented over 22 venues.
The UK delegation is made up of 157 competitors and will compete at 17 sports, including football, powerlifting and .
General strikes are planned for Athens on Tuesday and Wednesday, but Kirsten Seckler, world communications director for the games expects "minimal disruption".
The organisers call it the "biggest sporting event in the world this year". It began yesterday with a
³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Scotland's Paul Bradley is folowing the games in Athens. He says that the concern at the moment is that those who have gone down sic will not be involved in the initial process known as 'divisioning'. This takes place today and tomorrow and is where athletes are graded by independent adjudicators so they compete for medals against those with similar sporting ability.
"Athletes who are unable to attend the divisioning process will be entered at the levels suggested by their UK coaches. The only worry is that other team coaches might object. If someone is entered at the wrong grade and wins overwhelmingly, they can't then be disqualified. But I'm sure they'll find a way to let everyone compete."
Follow Paul Bradley's reports from the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Athens on Reporting Scotland, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ One Scotland, ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Radio Scotland and online.
We wish all British Special Olympics athletes a speedy recovery and the best of luck.
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