Time Line After 1968
"19-20 July 1968
The 1st International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA. 1,000 people with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states and Canada compete in track and field and swimming.
December 1971
The U.S. Olympic Committee gives Special Olympics official approval as one of only two organizations authorized to use the name “Olympics” in the United States.
5-11 February 1977
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, hosts the 1st International Special Olympics Winter Games. More than 500 athletes compete in skiing and skating events. CBS, ABC and NBC television networks cover the Games.
September 1986
The United Nations launches the International Year of Special Olympics. The theme is “Special Olympics—Uniting the World.”
February 1988
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) signs a historic agreement with Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver officially endorsing and recognizing Special Olympics.
July 1988
Special Olympics Unified Sports® is launched at the annual Special Olympics Conference in Reno, Nevada, and Lake Tahoe, California. Bowling, volleyball and softball are the first sports included.
20-27 March 1993
The 5th Special Olympics World Winter Games are hosted in Salzburg and Schladming, Austria. These are the first World Winter Games held outside North America.
1-9 July 1995
Several new initiatives make their debut at the 9th Special Olympics World Summer Games. These include the Host Town Program, Healthy Athletes®, and Research and Policy Symposia. For the first time, people with ID serve as certified officials.
January 1997
Healthy Athletes becomes an official Special Olympics initiative, providing health-care services to Special Olympics athletes worldwide. The program includes free vision, hearing and dental screening, injury prevention clinics and nutrition education.
20 July 1998
Special Olympics celebrates its 30th anniversary with the introduction of the first Sargent Shriver International Global Messengers. These 12 remarkable men and women travel the world as spokespeople for the movement over a two-year term.
2000
The “Campaign for Special Olympics” sets unprecedented goals to increase athlete participation by 1 million and to raise more than $120 million over a five-year period. This global campaign changes the face of the Special Olympics movement.
12-14 July 2001
Cape Town, Johannesburg and Sun City, South Africa host Special Olympics African Hope. Former President Nelson Mandela, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Special Olympics athletes gather to light the Flame of Hope and kick off the largest Law Enforcement Torch Run of Cape Town. It also launches a major push to reach 100,000 athletes in Africa by 2005.
October 2001
Special Olympics develops and distributes So Get Into It® kits for students with and without disabilities to schools and teachers worldwide at no cost.,They teach young people about intellectual disabilities while empowering them to “be the difference.”
21-29 June 2003
Ireland hosts the first Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held outside the United States. 5,500 athletes participate in this landmark event. It is the world's largest sporting event in 2003.
20 June 2003
Special Olympics releases “The Multinational Study of Attitudes toward Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.” It's the most comprehensive global study thorough ever on this subject. The report offers valuable insight into how people around the world view the roles and capabilities of persons with intellectual disabilities in the workplace, classroom and daily social life.
30 October 2004
U.S. President George W. Bush signs the “Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act." This gives $15 million every year for five years to Special Olympics programs. The funding goes to initiatives that encourage respect and understanding for people with intellectual disabilities. This marks the first time that Special Olympics secures support through legislation.
23 December 2005
"The Ringer," a Farrelly Brothers film starring Johnny Knoxville, opens in theaters. 150 athletes from Special Olympics appear in it.
2006
Special Olympics surpasses its goal of doubling the number of athletes that participate worldwide to 2.5 million participants. With sports at the core, the movement stands as a leader in advancing rights and opportunities and policy change for its athletes in 165 countries worldwide.
July 2008
Special Olympics celebrates its 40th anniversary as a true global movement, with nearly 3 million athletes in more than 180 countries.
February 2009
The Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, USA, draws nearly 2,000 athletes from close to 100 countries . U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visits and declares special needs advocacy "a civil rights movement."
11 August 2009
The founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, dies at her family home in Massachusetts. Letters and messages celebrating her contribution to humanity poured in from world leaders and ordinary people around the world.
June-July 2011
The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games are held in Athens, Greece. 7,000 athletes from 170 countries take part.
September 2011
Officials announce that the next Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in the United States for the first time in 16 years. Los Angeles, California is set to host the Summer Games in July 2015."
(Timeline quoted from "History of Special Olympics")
The 1st International Special Olympics Summer Games are held at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, USA. 1,000 people with intellectual disabilities from 26 U.S. states and Canada compete in track and field and swimming.
December 1971
The U.S. Olympic Committee gives Special Olympics official approval as one of only two organizations authorized to use the name “Olympics” in the United States.
5-11 February 1977
Steamboat Springs, Colorado, hosts the 1st International Special Olympics Winter Games. More than 500 athletes compete in skiing and skating events. CBS, ABC and NBC television networks cover the Games.
September 1986
The United Nations launches the International Year of Special Olympics. The theme is “Special Olympics—Uniting the World.”
February 1988
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) signs a historic agreement with Sargent and Eunice Kennedy Shriver officially endorsing and recognizing Special Olympics.
July 1988
Special Olympics Unified Sports® is launched at the annual Special Olympics Conference in Reno, Nevada, and Lake Tahoe, California. Bowling, volleyball and softball are the first sports included.
20-27 March 1993
The 5th Special Olympics World Winter Games are hosted in Salzburg and Schladming, Austria. These are the first World Winter Games held outside North America.
1-9 July 1995
Several new initiatives make their debut at the 9th Special Olympics World Summer Games. These include the Host Town Program, Healthy Athletes®, and Research and Policy Symposia. For the first time, people with ID serve as certified officials.
January 1997
Healthy Athletes becomes an official Special Olympics initiative, providing health-care services to Special Olympics athletes worldwide. The program includes free vision, hearing and dental screening, injury prevention clinics and nutrition education.
20 July 1998
Special Olympics celebrates its 30th anniversary with the introduction of the first Sargent Shriver International Global Messengers. These 12 remarkable men and women travel the world as spokespeople for the movement over a two-year term.
2000
The “Campaign for Special Olympics” sets unprecedented goals to increase athlete participation by 1 million and to raise more than $120 million over a five-year period. This global campaign changes the face of the Special Olympics movement.
12-14 July 2001
Cape Town, Johannesburg and Sun City, South Africa host Special Olympics African Hope. Former President Nelson Mandela, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Special Olympics athletes gather to light the Flame of Hope and kick off the largest Law Enforcement Torch Run of Cape Town. It also launches a major push to reach 100,000 athletes in Africa by 2005.
October 2001
Special Olympics develops and distributes So Get Into It® kits for students with and without disabilities to schools and teachers worldwide at no cost.,They teach young people about intellectual disabilities while empowering them to “be the difference.”
21-29 June 2003
Ireland hosts the first Special Olympics World Summer Games to be held outside the United States. 5,500 athletes participate in this landmark event. It is the world's largest sporting event in 2003.
20 June 2003
Special Olympics releases “The Multinational Study of Attitudes toward Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities.” It's the most comprehensive global study thorough ever on this subject. The report offers valuable insight into how people around the world view the roles and capabilities of persons with intellectual disabilities in the workplace, classroom and daily social life.
30 October 2004
U.S. President George W. Bush signs the “Special Olympics Sport and Empowerment Act." This gives $15 million every year for five years to Special Olympics programs. The funding goes to initiatives that encourage respect and understanding for people with intellectual disabilities. This marks the first time that Special Olympics secures support through legislation.
23 December 2005
"The Ringer," a Farrelly Brothers film starring Johnny Knoxville, opens in theaters. 150 athletes from Special Olympics appear in it.
2006
Special Olympics surpasses its goal of doubling the number of athletes that participate worldwide to 2.5 million participants. With sports at the core, the movement stands as a leader in advancing rights and opportunities and policy change for its athletes in 165 countries worldwide.
July 2008
Special Olympics celebrates its 40th anniversary as a true global movement, with nearly 3 million athletes in more than 180 countries.
February 2009
The Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho, USA, draws nearly 2,000 athletes from close to 100 countries . U.S. Vice President Joe Biden visits and declares special needs advocacy "a civil rights movement."
11 August 2009
The founder of Special Olympics, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, dies at her family home in Massachusetts. Letters and messages celebrating her contribution to humanity poured in from world leaders and ordinary people around the world.
June-July 2011
The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games are held in Athens, Greece. 7,000 athletes from 170 countries take part.
September 2011
Officials announce that the next Special Olympics World Summer Games will be held in the United States for the first time in 16 years. Los Angeles, California is set to host the Summer Games in July 2015."
(Timeline quoted from "History of Special Olympics")