Her vision expanded over the years, and in July 1968 the first International Special Olympics Games were held in Chicago.

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Companies from Coca-Cola to Nike and Sprint to State Farm have hosted events ranging from Special Olympics basketball games to celebrity meet-and-greets for fans throughout the week.

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Gareth Cowin, 25, died in PyeongChang whilst representing the island at the Special Olympics World Winter Games.

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The Special Olympics World Winter Games in South Korea have been renamed in honour of Manx Olympian Gareth Cowin.

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The search has begun for 500 volunteers to help the Special Olympics GB's ninth national games run smoothly.

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For instance, Ben Stevens had received seven hundred and fifteen thousand dollars over three years from the Special Olympics, as the chief executive of the 2001 Winter Games in Anchorage, for which his father had brought millions of dollars in federal aid.

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