Today at the World Summer Games – March 14

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Today at the World Summer Games – March 14

Let the Games Begin!

2019 World Summer Games Opening Ceremonies
Russellville Gymnast Lee Dockins and Lexington coach Mary Fehrenbach made the video screen during Opening Ceremonies.

Today marked the Opening Ceremonies of the first Special Olympics World Games ever held in the United States. The stunning ceremony was a celebration of inclusion and of the global reach of Special Olympics. The Ceremony included all of the expected elements – the parade of athletes, a speech by Special Olympics Chairman Tim Shriver and speeches by other athletes and dignitaries and a beautiful cauldron lighting.

During the parade of athletes, you could catch a glimpse of Lexington gymnast Tonya Cornett on the ESPN broadcast, and Russellville gymnast Lee Dockins and Lexington coach Mary Fehrenbach gt a close up, both on the broadcast and on the in-arena video screen at Zayed Sports City Stadium.

If you missed the Opening Ceremonies on ESPNNews, or if you want to watch again, the broadcast is available on ESPN3 and the Watch ESPN app.

Watch the Opening Ceremonies

Tomorrow at the World Summer Games

Tonya Cornett will continue her quest for gold with the preliminary round of the artistic gymnastics competition. She will compete in the vault, floor exercise, balance beam and uneven bars at Abu Dhabi National Exposition Centre.

The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held March 14-21, 2019, in Abu Dhabi. It will be the first time the World Games have been held in the Middle East. The Games are expected to bring together more than 7,000 athletes from 170 countries to compete. This will be the fourth time that the World Summer Games have been held outside the United States. The others were in 2003 in Dublin, Ireland; 2007 in Shanghai, China and 2011 in Athens, Greece.

For more information about the World Summer Games, or how you can support the Kentucky effort, please contact President/CEO Trish Mazzoni at 502-605-8222 or [email protected].

2019 World Games Archive

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