The Special Olympics Word Winter Games Turin 2025, the largest sports and humanitarian event of the year, drew to a close on 15 March after a celebration of sport and inclusion.
The 1,500 athletes with intellectual disabilities and Unified partners without intellectual disabilities – aged 15 to 66 years old – competed in eight sport disciplines from 8 to 15 March: Alpine Skiing, Cross-Country Skiing, DanceSport, Figure Skating, Floorball, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboarding, and Snowshoeing. Additionally, the Special Olympics Motor Activity Training Program (MATP) offered athletes with profound disabilities the opportunity to showcase their sports skills through an adapted ski demonstration in Bardonecchia and a dedicated event in Turin.
In addition to the competition, a number of activities took place on the sidelines, conveying the breadth and scope of the global Special Olympics movement. These included:
Special Olympics Healthy Athletes®, made possible by the Golisano Foundation, which offered health screenings for all athletes at the Games, a convening of the Global Coalition for Inclusion, the Global Youth Leadership Summit, and a Young Athletes demonstration, where children of all abilities aged 2-7 years learn gross motor skills through inclusive play.
Athletes from 100 nations were supported by 2,000 volunteers, and over 500 credentialed media covered the Games, further spreading the message of inclusion.
Among the guests who attended the Games were: Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni; President and First Lady of Poland, Andrzej Duda and Agata Kornhauser-Duda; Second Lady of the United States, Usha Vance; and European Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef.
Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 has been a proud moment for the entire movement, especially Europe, which is hosting its sixth World Games.
Special Olympics Sargent Shriver Global Messenger, Gilmour Borg, said, “It is through making our voices heard that we will shape a more inclusive future. It is through our unity that we grow stronger and face every challenge, hand in hand, together.”
David Evangelista, Special Olympics Europe/Eurasia President and Managing Director, said, “The determination, energy and skill shown by the athletes of Special Olympics here at the Games are a culmination of years of training, dedication and perseverance. They are a powerful and timely reminder to the world of the power of inclusion. Here in Turin, the athletes of Special Olympics are quite simply inclusion in motion.”
