Press Release
Governor Schwarzenegger to Attend the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games
Posted: Monday, October 1, 2007
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will travel to Shanghai, China Monday to participate in the opening ceremony for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Over the past 30 years, the Governor has served as a coach, spokesman, and ambassador for the Special Olympics, raising awareness and creating new opportunities for athletes worldwide. The 2007 games have nearly 7,500 top athletes from 165 countries participating in 25 sports.
"These games are the biggest event on earth this year, and I am proud that some of California's top athletes will be competing with the best of the best," said Governor Schwarzenegger. "After visiting China in 2005 to honor their great commitment to this event, I am eager to return and be a part of it."
In November 2005, in his role as Special Olympics Global Torch Bearer, Governor Schwarzenegger traveled to Beijing, China to promote the 2007 games and commend the country for reaching its goal of 500,000 Special Olympics athletes.
Governor Schwarzenegger's commitment to the Special Olympics is longstanding. The Governor began his work for Special Olympics as part of his work at the University of Wisconsin. Over the past three decades he has continued to highlight these important games as a world champion bodybuilder, a blockbuster actor and now as California's Governor.
Governor Schwarzenegger currently serves as a global ambassador for the Special Olympics. During his Canada trade mission in May 2007 the Governor spoke at the unveiling of Canada's Special Olympics team uniform and visited with athletes. During his November 2006 trade mission to Mexico, Governor Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver met with the members of the national Special Olympics team, the fastest growing program in the Americas.
Before his election, Governor Schwarzenegger promoted the Special Olympics with President Nelson Mandela in South Africa for the Special Olympics African Hope 2001. And in 2000, the Governor met with Chinese President Jiang Zemin to raise awareness and promote the program in China, setting the now-achieved goal of increasing the number of participants from 50,000 to 500,000 by 2004. He joined his father-in-law Sargent Shriver and brother-in-law Timothy P. Shriver, who serves as the Special Olympics Chairman, on the 2000 China visit. Maria Shriver's mother, Eunice Kennedy Shriver, founded the Special Olympics.
In 1991 the Governor received the Simon Wiesenthal Center's National Leadership Award, which honored his support of the Special Olympics. In 1988, the Governor held a gala premier of "Twins" at the Kennedy Center to benefit the games.
As part of his work at the University of Wisconsin the Governor participated in a research program to study the effect weight training had on people with mental disabilities and later successfully brought weight training and conditioning to the Special Olympics. For the Special Olympics, he has served as a National Coach in the United States and an International Weight Training Coach.
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