Canada’s Special Olympics team off to World Games for 1st time since 2019
Global News
A total of 89 athletes will be representing Canada at the World Games, which run between June 17 to June 25, after years of pandemic delays.
It’s like a heartbeat. That’s how Special Olympics Team Canada athlete Tyra Flukinger describes the acoustics of a basketball court.
“We’re all dribbling, shooting… it’s like a heartbeat, like drums to me,” she told Global News.
Flukinger is currently in Berlin, Germany for the 2023 Special Olympics World Games, which marks a return to the international competition since the previous Games in 2019.
The World Games are different from the Paralympics that run alongside the Olympics. Think of them as the World Athletic Championships — one of the highest levels of athletic competition possible.
A total of 89 athletes will be representing Canada at the World Games, which run between June 17 to June 25. Athletes will be competing in nine sports including athletics, basketball, bocce, tenpin bowling, golf, powerlifting, rhythmic gymnastics, soccer and swimming.
Flunkinger is joined in Berlin by Special Olympics Canada honorary coach Stephanie Labbé, who holds an Olympic gold medal as goalkeeper for Canada’s national women’s soccer team. She is also the general manager of women’s soccer for the Vancouver Whitecaps.
The World Games are the flagship event for Special Olympics and take place every two years, alternating between the summer and winter games.
This year brings a bunch of new beginnings for the Special Olympics movement. The Berlin competition will be the first World Games since 2019, due to the pandemic. Team Canada is also debuting their first all-women’s soccer and basketball teams in Berlin.