One Year Countdown

To celebrate the one year countdown to the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games, Special Olympics Florida and USA Games staged a series of events around the state last week to tell athletes they were headed to the Games.

On Monday, talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres surprised  Broward County athlete Michelle Canazaro with the news during a taping of “Ellen.” The next day, Orange County Unified soccer team, the OCA Eagles, learned they were headed to the Games at a media event in Orlando.  On Wednesday, supporters surprised Orange County Unified volleyball team, the Westside Varsity, after a morning workout. And on Thursday, USA Games sponsor Jersey Mike’s helped deliver the news to the Pasco County Lakers, a Unified soccer team, and to athletes Megan Bell of Duval County and Andy Miyares of Miami-Dade County.

It was a fabulous kick-off to the USA Games’ countdown, and we are so grateful to our friends at Jersey Mike’s, Orlando Health, and Coca-Cola for making the events possible.

Check out the links below to see some of the coverage of the announcements:

• Special Olympics Florida Athlete Andy Miyares’ Dream to Attend 2022 Games Comes True
• Special Olympics USA Games coming for Jacksonville resident Megan Bell
• Special Olympics Unified Team Headed to USA Games
• Local Special Olympics Florida Athlete Receives Surprise He Never Saw Coming