A senior official of the Special Olympics International (SOI) said on Sunday this host city of Special Olympics has achieved great success in fulfilling its promise five years ago.
Ossie Kilkenny, senior official with SOI, said the Shanghai municipal government made solemn commitment to the SOI during its bid for the 12th Special Olympics five years ago.
"Today I'm very glad to see all the commitments have been realized," he said, adding the spirit of the Special Olympics which features inclusion, equality and acceptance have been widely accepted throughout the country.
Considering the on-going Special Olympics as a "very wonderful" and "successful" event, he said he was greatly impressed by the opening ceremony of the Games which he described as a "feast of vision" covering diversified traditional elements. Kilkenny believed only the opening ceremony of the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games could compare with it.
As an international non-profit organization, SOI is dedicated
to empowering individuals with intellectual disabilities to become physically fit, productive and respected members of society through sports training and competition.
China has witnessed rapid development of Special Olympics movement, with the number of intellectual disabled athletes rising from several thousand to 600,000 at present.
The on-going Shanghai Special Olympics had drew over 10,000 athletes and coaches from all over the world. It will last until Oct. 11.
Source: Xinhua
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