Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025 – Largest Sports and Humanitarian Event of the Year – Draw to a Close

/EIN News/ --  • Eight sport disciplines

• 100 delegations

• 1,500 athletes and Unified partners

TURIN, Italy, March 16, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025, the largest sports and humanitarian event of the year, drew to a close yesterday 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 Sargeant 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.”

ABOUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS EUROPE EURASIA
Special Olympics in Europe Eurasia encompasses a diverse range of cultures, languages, and customs, traversing 58 countries in Western, Central, and Eastern Europe, and Central Asia. From Iceland to Italy and Portugal to Uzbekistan, Special Olympics promotes respect, inclusion, and human dignity for people with intellectual disabilities through sports. 

ABOUT SPECIAL OLYMPICS WORLD WINTER GAMES TURIN 2025
Every two years, Special Olympics holds its flagship event, the World Games, demonstrating sports excellence, which promotes equality, respect, and inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities worldwide. Transcending the boundaries of geography, nationality, political philosophy, gender, age, culture, and religion, the world will come together to celebrate inclusion around the 2025 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Turin, Sestriere, Bardonecchia, and Pragelato, Italy, from 8 March – 15 March 2025. Nearly 1,500 athletes and unified partners, more than 1,000 coaches representing 100 countries, 2000 volunteers, and thousands more spectators will participate in and watch eight exciting winter sports and community events. This is the first time Italy has hosted the World Winter Games. Sports featured are Alpine Skiing, Cross Country Skiing, Dancesport, Figure Skating, Floorball, Short Track Speed Skating, Snowboarding, and Snowshoeing. For more information on the 2025 Special Olympics World Games, visit www.turin2025.org and on social on Facebook, X (Formerly Twitter), Instagram, and YouTube.

Media contact: 
Aoife O'Grady
Special Olympics Europe Eurasia
aogrady@specialolympics.org

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at
https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c41c7215-ad84-4242-ab5b-249f17c2c3e8

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/f3e0269f-1a05-4474-89e0-0a01b41df5f0

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Short Track Speed Skating Action at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025

Zsombor Bohn of Special Olympics Hungary competes in short track speed skating at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025. The 22-year-old went on to claim two gold medals and a bronze over four days of intense competition.Photo by: Iñaki Esnaola.

Clemence Samaille Claims Silver in Alpine Skiing

Clemence Samaille celebrates as he crosses the finish line, securing silver in the advanced giant slalom F04 final at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025. This was the only medal won by the Special Olympics France alpine skier at the event.Photo by: Pablo Dondero

Special Olympics Athletes Share Celebratory Embrace

Alpine skiers Claire Potter (Special Olympics USA) and Jessica Larivée (Special Olympics Canada) share a heartfelt embrace. Potter leaves Turin with a gold and a silver, while Larivée takes home a silver medal.Photo by: Pablo Dondero

Snowshoeing Competition in Full Swing at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025

Justas Stumburevicius (Special Olympics Lithuania), Tianze Li (Special Olympics China), Kacper Koszkul (Special Olympics Poland), Robert Molesworth (Special Olympics Isle of Man), and Chen-Wen Feng (Special Olympics Chinese Taipei) race at full speed during the snowshoeing competition at the Special Olympics World Winter Games Turin 2025.Photo by: Pablo Dondero