The USA Games Are Officially Open!
The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games are officially open! Team Kentucky participated in a lively Opening Ceremony on Saturday night that included appearances by Demi Lovato and Jon Batiste as well as by a prominent Kentucky singer.
Following the Parade of Athletes, past Special Olympics Kentucky athlete and now well-known National Anthem singer Marlana VanHoose wowed the crowd with her rendition of the Anthem. What followed was an Opening Ceremony that included dancing, acrobatics, presentations from dignitaries including Special Olympics Chair Tim Shriver and, of course, the lighting of the Special Olympics Cauldron after the Special Olympics torch was presented by Law Enforcement Torch Run volunteers who carried it throughout Minnesota in advance of the Games. One of those volunteers was Richmond Police Chief Rodney Richardson.
Earlier in the day, Kentucky athletes who participated in the Path to the Podium fitness program that encouraged athletes to improve their fitness in advance of the Games were honored in the Target Athlete Village on the University of Minnesota Campus. A number of Kentucky athletes earned Top 100 and Top 500 finisher recognition pins. Four Kentucky athletes were recognized as Top 10 finishers – track and field athletes Damion Frost and Miguel Mendoza in the men’s division and track and field athlete Kaylen Toews and gymnast Aliya White in the women’s division.
The Games are now officially open. Sunday will be a day of practice for all eight Kentucky sports delegations with competition beginning on Monday.
See Photos from Today at the USA Games
For more information about the Games or Team Kentucky, please contact Mark Buerger at mbuerger@soky.org.