Competitions

ALEX LIN
Staff Writer

The most recent summer Special Olympics offered over 20 sports for athletes to compete in. Some of the sports included basketball, volleyball, soccer and many more. Others interesting events were sailing, bowling and powerlifting.

In basketball, the teams were split up into many divisions to ensure that athletes got paired with other athletes with similar physical traits. Division 1, the highest division, was won by Australia. Greece came in second place and Russia came in third place.

In volleyball, Russia took first place. Croatia came in second place while Bharat took 3rd place. The volleyball teams consisted of around 10-12 players each.

In the soccer events, there were 5-A-Side teams, 7-A-Side, and 11-A-Side events. This determines how many players are on the field for each team. For the 11-A-Side event, Great Britain came in first place and Bangladesh came in second place.

One sport that stood out was sailing. In this sport, athletes compete to race through a pre-made route. Athletes had to steer their boats to the finish line in the fastest time. Austria came in first place, Russia came in second and the USA-South Carolina team came in third place. Many of athletes won and lost, but at the end, the fun and pride that these athletes gain from these events are more important than just winning.