SOMI 2016 Summer Games ends, not before milestones made
After three days and hundreds of competitions, the Special Olympics Michigan 2016 Summer Games have ended.
The 44th annual summer games at Central Michigan University began Thursday with a parade and opening ceremony at Kelly/Shorts Stadium. Friday featured the bulk of the competitions, capped off with a dance party and closing ceremony in Kelly/Shorts. The games officially wrapped up Saturday.
Athletes from across Michigan poured into Kelly/Shorts Stadium in a parade of champions Thursday. The athletes competing at the summer games won regional competitions to represent their area at the statewide games. The opening ceremony concluded with the lighting of the "Flame of Hope" on top of the east grand stand at Kelly/Shorts.
With the assistance of Michigan Law Enforcement Torch Run, the Flame of Hope was run nine hours from the steps of the Capitol in Lansing to Mount Pleasant.
CMU student-athletes accompanied teams of Special Olympics athletes onto the field. Junior defensive back Zach Oakley said he was happy his team was last in line for the parade because the athletes were a little late after coming down to Mount Pleasant from the upper peninsula.
A major athletic milestone was made on Friday. Plymouth native James Ellison, 24, set an "unofficial" world record, deadlifting 660 pounds in the powerlifting event in the Student Activity Center. SOMI Public Relations Director and Special Olympics USA Communications Director Aaron Mills said Special Olympics does not keep official records for all of its competitions in every country. Ellison's deadlift weight and combined total weight in the event are more than anything recorded at the Special Olympics World Games, he said.
Mills said another highlight of the summer games is 1,003 athletes received free eye exams. Free dental exams and other preliminary examinations were also available to Special Olympics athletes.
"There were a handful who received their first ever pairs of glasses this weekend, allowing them to see clearly for the first time in their lives," Mills said in an email.
The exams and glasses were free of charge to athletes, Mills said, made possible by SOMI's donors and sponsors. Special Olympics is the largest health care provider for people with intellectual disabilities in the world.
Dr. Jamie Feldman, a volunteer at SOMI's summer games Healthy Athletes Village, works with Special Olympics athletes at "Special Smiles." The Special Smiles program began in 2000 and gives people with intellectual disabilities the resources to dental care.
"Some have excellent dental care. Some don't have any," Feldman said. "Some families have so much costs for other things like putting food on the table."
According to a student-conducted study, the games bring $1 million to the local economy.
The summer games is the largest event SOMI hosts during the year. More than 2,800 athletes attended this year. The organization will host the 2016 Fall Games on Sept. 23-25 in Canton, Chelsea and Ypsilanti. On average, 1,600 SOMI athletes attend the fall games.
