Special Olympics: the most beautiful sport in Berlin

“May I win, but if I fail, may I try with all my might.” The Italian athletes taking part, from 17 to 25 June, in the sixteenth edition of the Special Olympics Summer World Games, symbolically pronounced this oath in the CONI Hall of Honor at the Foro Italico in Rome.

There are 97. Twenty-six sports that will be tackled by the athletes with intellectual disabilities: Athletics, Badminton, Bocce, Bowling, Futsal, Horse riding, Artistic and Rhythmic Gymnastics, Golf, Swimming, Traditional and Unified Basketball, Unified Volleyball, Unified Beach Volleyball, Tennis and Table Tennis. The youngest is a gymnast, she is 15 and her name is Bambi Becattini. She attends the sports high school and the principal of her school tells her this way: «Bambi is an example for all the students and above all for her classmates at the sports high school because she shows that when you work hard and well then you are repaid and get big satisfactions. When the companions are tired it is she who encourages them; her sweetness and sympathy never go against her grit and determination ».

For the Azzurri there are messages of good luck from great sports and on Saturday 17 there is the opening ceremony of the Special Olympics Summer World Games. Even this year Coca Cola supports the organization in carrying out the Games, scheduled until Sunday 25 June in the German capital. A long-standing partnership that celebrates values ​​such as diversity and inclusion, which have always been part of Coca-Cola’s DNA and can be a lever for positive changes and new opportunities.

The Special Olympics World Games are the largest multi-sport and inclusive event in the world. A unique appointment that creates a strong social and emotional impact and will allow this year over 7,000 athletes, supported by 20,000 volunteers, from 190 countries to show their skills and talents, competing together in 26 sports in 9 days of competition , emphasizing the transformative effect of sport on the lives of participants and their families.

Since 1968 Coca-Cola has been a founding member and global sponsor of Special Olympics with the aim of making its contribution to creating an inclusive society. For over 50 years, Coca-Cola has been committed to supporting the extraordinary potential of those with intellectual disabilities and enhancing sport as a tool capable of uniting people and transforming their lives, promoting positive role models and conveying an important message: the possibility, for everyone, to achieve great goals. Coca-Cola participates in the fundraising campaign Adopt a Champion, promoted by Special
Olympics Italia to support the travel costs of the Italian delegation in Berlin.

«We are proud to be able to join Special Olympics again and give our support to the Italian athletes who will participate in the World Games, which are much more than a simple event but a celebration of the inclusive power of sport and its ability to break down barriers. Ours is a partnership, built in over 50 years of collaborationwhich has its roots in a commonality of values ​​and in the goal of helping to inspire positive change, and a future where everyone can feel included and valued for their abilities and not discriminated against for their differences” declared Cristina Camilli, Director of Institutional Relations , Communication and Sustainability of Coca-Cola Italia.

During the closing ceremony of the Summer World Games, which will be held on Sunday 25 June at the Brandenburg Gate, the flag will be handed over to Italy, which will host the Winter World Games in Turin in 2025.