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Special Olympics athletes, supporters carry torch through McPherson

McPherson Sentinel - 6/5/2017

June 05--Lights flashed and bystanders cheered as a group of black-shirted joggers passed down McPherson'sMain Street Friday morning, carrying a torch for Special Olympics Kansas.

This year's Kansas State Summer Games started Friday in Maize, and will continue through Sunday evening.

McPherson honored local athletes and their supporters with a torch run, which has become an annual tradition.

"It shows support for the community, even our gifted athletes," said McPherson County Sheriff Jerry Montagne, who is one of the coordinators for McPherson's team and who will volunteer at the games this weekend. "They're McPherson County citizens, and this shows that we're all in this together."

Special Olympics was started so that people with intellectual disabilities could compete in athletic events. Today, the program includes 4 million athletes in over 180 countries, as well as every state in the U.S. A delegation of six Kansas athletes attended the first Special Olympics Summer Games at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1968.

"It's great because they get to participate," said Stacie DeMaio, one of the track and field coaches for the McPherson team. Her 13-year-old son, Caleb, is competing this year. "It's great to see their faces, and how happy they are to participate and compete, and the feeling they get when they win, it's an accomplishment."

The torch run began in the 1300 block of North Main Street in McPherson and traveled south to the Main Street Plaza on June 2, where participants stopped for doughnuts in honor of Doughnut Day. Runners then continued to the 300 block of South Main Street, where the run ended.

McPherson Mayor Tom Brown ran with the group and thanked the community for the support they have shown Special Olympics athletes.

"On behalf of the city of McPherson, I'm proud of you," he told the athletes. "Do your best. After all, that's what counts."

For more information about Special Olympics Kansas, visit http://ksso.org/

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(c)2017 McPherson Sentinel, Kan.

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