Published:
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Unveil Globally Symbolic Mascot
2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games Chief
Executive Officer, Gary Hunter, board members and Special Olympic athletes
today unveiled the official mascot -- a proud standing, fully medaled bald
eagle. The mascot will serve as the global symbol of the 2009 Winter
Games, a timely selection in light of Secretary of the Interior and former
governor of Idaho, Dirk Kempthorne's, recent announcement to remove the
bald eagle from the list of threatened and endangered species at a ceremony
at the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, D.C.
"The bald eagle is a living symbol of the USA's freedom, spirit and pursuit
of excellence, not to mention the hope it will signify in relation to what
that the Special Olympics Games brings to participants and spectators, and
the strength within each of the athletes," said Hunter. "It will serve to
help unite and inspire athletes from all over the world."
Competition and activities to name the mascot will begin this fall in Idaho
schools. The school children of Idaho will have a chance to name the
mascot, and participate in a number of activities leading up to and during
the 2008 Invitational and 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games.
This is the first time Games will be hosted in the United States since
2001. The 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games are projected to attract
up to 10,000 visitors from 85 countries in February 2009.
Special Olympics is an international program of year-round sports training
and athletic competition for children and adults with intellectual
disabilities. Today, over 2 million athletes in more than 150 countries
train and compete in 30 Olympic-type sports, ranging from skiing to
sailing.
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