‘It’s magic.’ Special Olympics PA welcomes hundreds of athletes to Penn State
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- Pennsylvania’s 56th Annual Special Olympics held events at Medlar Field.
- Nearly 1,400 athletes from across Pennsylvania will compete in summer games events.
- The 56th Annual Special Olympics featured a torch procession and cauldron lighting.
The torch is lit for Pennsylvania’s 56th Annual Special Olympics.
Hundreds of athletes, coaches, spectators and volunteers gathered at Medlar Field Thursday evening to kick off Pennsylvania’s largest statewide competition.
Established in 1970, the Pennsylvania Special Olympics is a series of athletic competitions for children and adults with intellectual disabilities. Special Olympics Pennsylvania (SOPA) hosts year-round sporting events and training opportunities in 11 sports, including swimming, basketball, gymnastics and tennis, which will be featured in this year’s games.
This year’s games feature nearly 1,400 athletes from across the state, including 40 Centre County athletes and coaches, creating an atmosphere of fun and camaraderie.
“Everyone here just celebrates life so much,” said five-year volunteer Kimmy Metzler. “I love it.”
Athletes competing in the summer games were selected from a series of qualifying competitions across the local and regional level. The top athletes from the weekend’s events will go on to represent the state of Pennsylvania in the national Special Olympics in Minnesota at the end of June.
Qualifying events for this weekend were held early Thursday afternoon and competitions run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, June 5, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday around Penn State campus. All events are open to spectators and a full schedule can be found online.
Athletes and their families were greeted at the stadium by the Penn State football team and cheer squad, led by new head coach, Matt Campbell.
Players lined the entrance of Medlar Field cheering on Special Olympians and their coaches, taking pictures and offering fist bumps as the athletes entered. It was the first time the Penn State football team was present for the opening ceremonies in over five years.
“For our football team, it’s a great opportunity for us to give back,” Campbell said. “One of my big beliefs is the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of other people.”
Campbell was involved with the Special Olympics during his previous coaching position at Iowa State and found it “really rewarding” to be able to experience it with a new team and community.
The event was staffed by dozens of volunteers, who make up the more than 1,000 people who facilitate the transportation, housing and events that make up the Special Olympics. The weekend was coordinated by over 60 regional staff members who have spent the year working to improve outreach and create more local programming opportunities for people with intellectual disabilities.
Competitors came into the ceremony with a number of goals for the weekend, from winning a gold medal, to improving their defense in basketball or simply enjoying the experience.
Sahel Al-Kenani, a seven-year Special Olympic competitor from Erie, Pennsylvania, is looking forward to working with his team during the basketball portion of the games to bring home a gold medal.
The ceremony included remarks from Special Olympics interim CEO Nathan Garland and Jacqueline Foderaro, Sheetz community partnership manager, who presented the Sheetz Family Award of Excellence to multi-event competitor and long-time Special Olympian, Andrea Andrews.
“Sheetz has been a proud supporter of Special Olympics for over 30 years now,” said Foderaro. “We’re so proud to be working alongside [the Special Olympians] to build a more inclusive world.”
The sentiment was echoed by honorary opening ceremony chair, Tanisha Wright, new Nittany Lions women’s basketball coach and 2005 Penn State graduate. Wright reflected on the impact of Penn State on her life and career, and the role of athletics in bringing people together.
“Sport, in general, is the great connector,” Wright said. “Everybody belongs in sports … It is why it is important for us to represent and to be at these Special Olympics.”
The Olympic torch was brought to Medlar Field by a procession of law enforcement officers who delivered the torch to State College after a 150-mile run from PNC Stadium in Moosic, Pennsylvania.
The cauldron was lit by 2026 Special Olympics Hall of Fame inductees Samantha Lurwick and Scott Otterbein, and Rob Dippippa, the deputy chief of Pittsburgh Port Authority police.
For State College philanthropist Sue Paterno, the growth and evolution of the Special Olympics has had her “hooked” for over 30 years.
“It’s magic,” Paterno said. “And I just love how far we’ve come. And we’re going to go forward.”
Paterno got involved with the Special Olympics in the early 1980s after helping her son recover from a skull fracture. After “a lot of miracles,” Paterno felt the desire to give back to the community she’d grown close to. After over 30 years on the Special Olympic board, Paterno is still eager to help the program grow.
Paterno praised the “total joy” that athletes bring to the competition and the role kindness has played throughout every stage of the games.
Paterno recalled an exchange she had while joking with athletes after the closing ceremonies years ago: “I said, ‘You guys have all these medals. I’ve never gotten one.’ Some kid took off two medals and said ‘here.’”
