Styrian athletes ready for the world winter games in Turin!

Styrian athletes ready for the world winter games in Turin!

Turnau, Österreich - Preparations for the world winter games of the Special Olympics culminate in Turin in March. A total of 1,500 athletes from 108 nations, including 40 representatives from Austria and seven from Styria, take part in this important event. For many athletes with intellectual impairment, the special Olympics are the sporty highlight of their career, as the organizers emphasize. In Turnau, the Styrian athletes have prepared intensively for the games, and organizer Martin Sommerauer describes how pupils from the Thörl middle school are actively involved in the event to help with the preparations and to take part in the unified competitions, where athletes compete with and without impairment.

A central aspect of these initiatives is social integration. As Tamara Wrobel notes from Thörl middle school, this collaboration offers children the opportunity to get to know new perspectives and become more open to people with impairments. Thomas Kepplinger from Special Olympics Austria emphasizes that Sport offers an effective way to break through social exclusion, a topic that has been particularly in focus since pandemic. These games are not just about the sporting competition, but also about the cooperation and the acceptance of all participants, which makes the event a valuable experience for viewers and athletes, such as fi-bs.de