More than 900 athletes and coaches from around the state took part in activities Saturday at the Special Olympics Outdoor Games, which took place at various sites in the Jefferson City area.
Among those on hand to cheer on the athletes was Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri.
Speaking at the Binder Park Softball Complex where he helped honor athletes after a game, Blunt talked about his co-sponsoring of the Bipartisan Eunice Kennedy Shriver Act in 2013. This reauthorized grants for classrooms and activities designed to support schools and integrated recreational programs to encourage acceptance and become role models for persons with intellectual disabilities.
"This legislation also reauthorized grants for the Healthy Athletes program, which looks to improve access to health care for Special Olympics participants," Blunt said. "We found that 50 percent of these kids needed proper shoes because what they had were the wrong size. Some had hearing challenges and others site challenges. I remember one story where one of the kids said until he got new glasses, "I thought I was seeing two softballs. It's a whole lot easier when there's one ball.' I talked to a young man this morning who said he got his hearing aid through Special Olympics."
Blunt also touted the Training for Life campus project that will be built in Jefferson City. The campus will be on 15.5 acres near U.S. 54 and Missouri 179.
"Nationwide, 52 percent of people who participate in Special Olympics have a job," he said. "When you develop the confidence of competition, whether that's on a team or individual competition events, it makes a big difference in people's lives."