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Los Angeles Special Olympic World Games kicks off

Xinhua, July 26, 2015 Adjust font size:

With the announcement from America's First Lady Michelle Obama, the 2015 Los Angeles Special Olympic World Games was officially opened in LA Memorial Colosseum on Saturday.

"You're uniting us in a way that nothing else can. My husband and I are so incredibly proud of you!" the First Lady said to athletes and announced the openning of the Games.

Since the 1984 summer Olympics, the Special Olympics World Games is the largest international sports event Los Angeles has ever held. The Los Angeles Olympics was best remembered in China's Olympic history as Xu Haifeng won the men's shooting to award China its first Olympic gold medal.

In this year's Special Olympics, there are 6,500 athletes from 165 countries and regions, competing in 25 different games.

China sends 126 delegates, including 93 athletes, to compete in 69 events of 10 sports of track, swimming, basketball, soccer, ping-pong, weightlifting, gymnastics, skidding, grounder and badminton.

"In China, our people with special disabilities need more love and concern, and you can feel it when you pay attention to the Special Olympics," said the Chinese promotion ambassador for the Special Olympics, Liu Tao, "We should do something for them, creating more opportunities for them to present themselves; we should accept them more, so they can be more confident and brighter."

Special Olympics is the international athletic training and competing event for people with intellectual disabilities, and it is created following the ideal of Olympics.

The Special Olympic World Games is held in every two years, alternated between summer and winter. In 2007, the 12th Summer Special Olympics was held in Shanghai, China. Endi