MEMBERS OF SPECIAL OLYMPICS ARIZONA BASKETBALL TEAM EARN SILVER MEDAL REPRESENTING SPECIAL OLYMPICS USA AT 2023 WORLD GAMES BERLIN

TEAM USA LOST BY 1 POINT TO KUWAIT IN GOLD MEDAL GAME

Members of the Special Olympics Arizona basketball team had a great showing at the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023 representing Special Olympics USA, taking home the silver medal in the Men’s/Mixed Unified Sports Team Basketball Competition, losing to Kuwait by just one point in the gold medal match.

Team USA, the only all-female team in the Men’s/Mixed division, advanced to the medal round that included Austria, Kuwait and Romania.  In round-robin medal-round play, Team USA went 2-1, beating Austria and Romania, while losing to Kuwait.  They beat Austria again in the semifinals, but lost a heartbreaker to Kuwait in the gold medal match, but still secured second place in the division to bring home the silver medal.

“I couldn’t be more proud of this team, the coaching staff, and everyone involved, this is such a great accomplishment,” said Special Olympics Arizona President and CEO Jamie Heckerman.  “This team has a lot of heart and a lot of competitiveness.  When they found out there would not be an all-female division, they wanted to take on the challenge and enter the Men’s division as an all-female team anyway.  We are so excited to welcome them home and share in this victory.”

The Unified 3X3 basketball team was led by head coach Mary Roberts and assistant coach Mandy Faust, with the team consisting of athletes Lindsay Hayes, Sarah Gaudio and Vanessa Robles; and Unified Partners Summer Burgess and Taylor Lifgren.

Unified Sports joins people with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) on the same team and was inspired by the simple principle that training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship, competition and understanding.

The Special Olympics World Games are the largest inclusive sporting events in the world and showcased more than 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities (ID) and Unified partners competing together in 25 sports over nine days of competition (June 17-25) in Berlin, Germany.  For more information or results visit https://www.berlin2023.org/en.