One of the biggest gatherings of Northeast Texas athletes each year is set to return to Lions Stadium on April 20 with close to 350 athletes of all ages getting ready to compete at the 2023 Special Olympics-Dianna Melton Relays.
All of the pageantry of the Olympics will take the stage at New Boston High School again this year with each athlete heralding the mantra of “Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” The event is one of the most attended sporting events every year in the area, as family and fans turn out to support the athletes, and volunteers from all over Northeast Texas turn out to lend a hand and keep the various events moving. On the field that day you will see athletes competing in field events and track events, following the opening ceremonies complete with a parade of athletes and a torch lighting ceremony.
According to specialolympics. org, Special Olympics began in the 1950s and early 1960s, when Eunice Kennedy Shriver saw how unjustly and unfairly people with intellectual disabilities were treated. She also saw that many children with intellectual disabilities didn’t even have a place to play. She decided to take action.
