The Special Olympics is a non-profit organization that provides year-round training and athletic competitions for people with intellectual disabilities. It started in the 1960s with Anne Burke organizing competitions in Chicago and has since grown internationally to involve over 3.1 million athletes across the world. While the Special Olympics is run primarily by volunteers and aims to empower participants, it is a serious athletic event - there are winners and losers, and competitions take place at the local, regional, and state levels in over 30 Olympic-style events.
