Two Special Olympics Ohio athletes joined thousands at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in the United Arab Emirates March 14-21, 2019.
Garrett “The Hulk” Ford of Pataskala competed in Powerlifting and brought home four gold medals for Deadlift, Bench Press, Squat, and Overall.
Jabari “Mr. Speed” Wilson of Hilliard competed in the Pentathlon and 4×100 Relay events and brought home a gold medal for the Pentathlon and took seventh place in the relay.
“We are so proud of Garrett and Jabari!” said Special Olympics Ohio President and CEO Jessica Stewart. “These two young men worked hard and their determination paid off on the world stage. They truly embody the spirit of the Special Olympics Movement.”
The Special Olympics USA delegation included 215 athletes from all over the U.S. who competed in 18 different sports at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games.
About the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games
The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games was the world’s largest humanitarian and sporting event of 2019 and featured seven days of competition in 24 sports: Athletics (Track & Field), Badminton, Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Bocce, Bowling, Cycling, Equestrian, Golf, Gymnastics (Artistic and Rhythmic), Handball, Judo, Kayaking, Open Water Swimming, Powerlifting, Roller Skating, Sailing, Soccer, Swimming, Table Tennis, Tennis, Triathlon, and Volleyball. More than 7,000 athletes from 170 countries competed, along with 2,500 coaches and 20,000 volunteers. These were the first Special Olympics World Games in the Middle East/North Africa region. In addition to sports competition, the 2019 World Games featured inspiring non-sports activities and programs, including Unified Sports experiences, free Healthy Athletes screenings, a Global Youth Summit, and the Law Enforcement Torch Run.