400 Special Olympics Athletes Compete in LA

Four hundred Special Olympics athletes will compete on April 21, 2001 in the Special Olympics Games.
The athletes, who have been training regularly in their events, will compete in 5 sports: track and field events, aquatics, bocce ball, bowling and basketball.

“These athletes are dedicated to their training and are quite serious about doing their best in these games.” said Paula Mills, Area Director for Pasadena. “It’s great to watch the athletes as they compete not only against each other, but also against themselves, constantly striving to do better, create new successes, increase their self esteem, and make new friends.”

These games are a part of the year-long competition offered by Special Olympics.

Special Olympics Southern California serves nearly 13,000 children and adults with mental retardation in an 11-county region of Southern California.

The program offers sports training and competition in 21 individual and team sports on a year-round basis. Athletes range in age from eight to 80.

For more information about Special Olympics please visit its Web site at www.sosc.org.

Stephanie Oakes is a fitness correspondent for Discovery Health Channel, a contributing editor for USA Weekend Magazine and the LA Times, and appears on NBC's 'Today in New York'. She can be reached at soakes@beststuff.com.