史密森尼学会的美国国家历史博物馆（Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History）最近推出新展《特奥50年》（Special Olympics at 50），追溯这个对世界产生重大影响的民权运动之一。

特奥会主席蒂莫西·施莱佛（Timothy Shriver）最近形容（英文）这个展览是“我们这一运动中的一个喜悦和重大的里程碑”。

正在庆祝诞生50周年的特殊奥林匹克运动（Special Olympics）是智障人士的国际体育比赛盛事，现有172个国家的大约500万运动员参与，而且成为通过体育同成见和歧视作斗争和倡导包容的强大力量。

展览以纪念物和照片，突出介绍了特殊奥林匹克创始人、蒂莫西·施莱佛的母亲尤妮斯·肯尼迪·施莱佛（Eunice Kennedy Shriver，1921-2009）的贡献，以及四位著名特奥运动员的成就。

蒂莫西·施莱佛在2017年奥地利世界冬季特奥运动会（Special Olympics World Winter Games）开幕式上讲话。(Special Olympics International)蒂莫西·施莱佛提到，阿布达比（Abu Dhabi）将是2019年3月世界特奥会的主办城市，并且说，“特奥运动员是世界在关键时刻所需要的领袖，让人们懂得如何尊重自己的人类同胞，向世界显示什么叫选择包容”。

运动起点

给全球各地许多人生活带来改善的特殊奥运会，起源非同寻常。

那是上世纪60年代，是在尤妮斯·肯尼迪·施莱佛宅院的一个普通聚会上。在那个年代，大多数有智力障碍的人都被送入收容设施，与社会隔绝，很少有机会受教育、就业，或做任何事情。

施莱佛的姐姐罗斯玛丽（Rosemary）——也是约翰·肯尼迪（John F. Kennedy）总统的妹妹——天生智障。姐姐的经历让施莱佛想到，应该为有特殊需要的儿童创造机会，让他们可以参加有组织的体育竞赛活动。她邀请一些孩子在她家的后院游泳，踢足球，打篮球，并将这种后院活动起名为“施莱佛营地”(Camp Shriver)。特殊奥运会由此逐渐应运而生。

第一届特殊奥运会于1968年在芝加哥（Chicago）的战士体育场（Soldier Field）举行。施莱佛在开幕活动中戴的帽子和使用的书写板现在陈列在《特奥50年》的展览中。

展览中介绍的运动员之一，是出生在北卡罗莱纳州（North Carolina）的马蒂·希茨（Marty Sheets，1953-2015）。患有唐氏综合症的希茨出席了1968年首届特奥会，并在后来参加过多项比赛（特奥会对运动员没有最大年龄限制）。

希茨获得过高山滑雪、高尔夫球、游泳和举重比赛项目的总共大约250枚奖牌，是成就最卓著的特奥会运动员之一。

展览中介绍的另外几位运动员包括，来自宾夕法尼亚州的田径选手洛蕾塔·克莱本（Loretta Claiborne）；来自首都华盛顿（Washington, D.C.）的多项选手理查多·桑顿（Ricardo Thornton）；以及来自肯塔基州（Kentucky）的体操运动员里·多金斯（Lee Dockins）。

克莱本参加过26次马拉松赛跑，能够用五种语言交流。如今身为丈夫、父亲和祖父的他，成为一位励志演讲人，并作为特殊奥林匹克大使访问了南非和摩洛哥。从8岁开始从事体操运动的多金斯曾在世界各地参加比赛。她现在担任儿童体操教练（包括没有残障的儿童），同时进行自己的训练。

The Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of American History has a new exhibition — titled Special Olympics at 50 — that tells the story of one of the world’s most transformative civil rights movements.

Now celebrating its 50th anniversary, Special Olympics is a global sports competition for people with intellectual disabilities, involving some 5 million participating athletes in 172 countries. It’s also a powerful force for inclusion, using sports to fight stigma and discrimination.

Through memorabilia and photographs, the exhibition highlights the role of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver (1921–2009) and the accomplishments of four prominent Special Olympians.

Shriver’s son, Special Olympics Chairman Timothy Shriver, recently described the exhibition as “a joyous and important milestone for our movement.”

He noted that Abu Dhabi will host the Special Olympics World Games in March 2019, adding: “The athletes of Special Olympics are leaders the world needs at this critical moment, teaching us how to shower respect on your fellow human beings and showing the world what it means to choose to include.”

A movement takes off

Special Olympics, which has improved the lives of people around the world, emerged from unlikely beginnings.

It all began with a modest gathering on the grounds of Eunice Kennedy Shriver’s home during the 1960s, an era when most people with intellectual disabilities were institutionalized — effectively segregated from society, with few opportunities for education, employment or anything else.

Inspired by her sister Rosemary, who was born with intellectual disabilities, Shriver — whose brother was President John F. Kennedy — wanted to give special-needs kids a chance to compete in organized sports. So she invited a group of them to swim, play soccer and shoot basketball hoops in her backyard. She named her backyard gathering “Camp Shriver,” which eventually grew into Special Olympics.

Special Olympics held its first competition at Soldier Field in Chicago in 1968, and Shriver’s hat and clipboard from that inaugural event are on display at Special Olympics at 50.

Among the exhibition’s highlighted athletes is Marty Sheets, a North Carolina native who had Down syndrome. Sheets (1953–2015) attended the first games in 1968 and competed in a variety of sports in subsequent years (there’s no maximum age limit for Special Olympics competitors).

He won some 250 medals in downhill skiing, golf, swimming and weightlifting, becoming one of the most decorated Special Olympians.

Also featured are Loretta Claiborne, a track-and-field athlete from Pennsylvania; multisports athlete Ricardo Thornton, from Washington; and Lee Dockins, a gymnast from Kentucky.

Claiborne, now a motivational speaker, has completed 26 marathons and communicates in five languages. Thornton — a husband, father and grandfather — has traveled to South Africa and Morocco as a Special Olympics ambassador. Dockins, a gymnast since age 8, has competed around the world and coaches young gymnasts (including kids without disabilities) while pursuing her own training.