By Fans gathered and rumbled along the playing areas to cheer on the athletes participating in the Special Olympic World Games in Long Beach on Wednesday.
Alamitos Beach hosted volleyball and cycling; sailing competitions were held at Belmont Pier.
Special Olympics World Games has 165 countries represented and 6,500 athletes and 2,000 coaches participating this year, according to the Special Olympic games.
This will be the largest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic games, and will be the largest humanitarian event in the world this year.
John Nunn, an American rower who won a bronze medal in the 1968 Summer Olympic games said a few words before the kayaking award ceremony held at Marine Stadium Park. Nunn said he was excited to introduce the athletes that participated in the kayaking competition.
“One of the wonderful things about sports in general, is that kids can gain a whole lot of self confidence from participating in sports any sports,” Nunn said. “Especially for kids with more needs than others can use their success in a sports venue … to overcome other phases in life.”
The games will continue through August 2 at various locations in Los Angeles and some of the contenders will return to Long Beach for other competitions.
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- Ariel Ary holds up the Costa Rican flag in celebration after winning the bronze medal.
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- Long Beach police officer presents Russian cyclist Marina Vakhrusheva the gold medal in the cycling 1K time trials at Alamitos Beach with a time of 1:50.49.
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- Costa Rica’s Jesus A. Montero sets the ball over the net during his teams bronze medal match against Kenya. Costa Rica went on to win the bronze medal over Kenya two sets to none.
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- Yendri Solano of Costa Rica lifts her arms in excitement after receiving her medal for the mixed pairs kayak race.
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- Special Olympics volunteers row back to shore after helping four teams from Greece and Norway get set at the starting line.
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- Enthusastic fans cheer on the men’s beach volleyball bronze match between Kenya and Costa Rica. Representatives of Kaiser Permanente, a sponsor of the games, held up signs to encourage the athletes competing on the sand court. The fans cheered after every point regardless of who scored it highlighting the good sportsmanship the Special Olympics are known for.
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- Kayak medal winners hold their hands up for Long Beach in front of the podium at the Marine Stadium. The Special Olympic World Games kicked off in Los Angeles Saturday with several events, such as sailing, cycling, open water swimming, beach volleyball and a half marathon, also taking place throughout Long Beach. The largest humanitarian event in the world this year, and the largest event in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympics, will be concluding on Sunday.
