The “National Games Sharing of Macau Special Olympics Athletes & Macau Special Olympics Athletes Award Ceremony by Wynn Care 2022” was held yesterday at Wynn Palace’s conference venue in Cotai. A statement by the Macau Special Olympics (MSO) quoted its Executive Director Hetzer Siu Yu Hong as saying that he was looking forward to bringing a new vision and development for local athletes with disabilities to the 2025 National Paralympic Games and Special Olympics.
The 2025 National Paralympic Games and Special Olympics will be held simultaneously in Guangzhou, Macau and Hong Kong.
The one-day event was co-hosted by Wynn Care and MSO and intended to award local athletes with disabilities who joined the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games which took place last year in Shaanxi province.
The statement said that about 4,000 athletes and 33 delegations joined the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games.
Wynn Resorts (Macau) President and Executive Director Linda Chen Chih-ling, Hetzer Siu and a number of other MSO representatives and government officials attended the event.
The event included a sharing session in which local athletes with disabilities shared their stories. One of the athletes was Chen Yu Chia who won a silver medal in the men’s 400m freestyle S14 and three bronze medals in the men’s 200m freestyle S14, 100m butterfly S14 and 200m individual medley S14 in the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games.
A short video was shown before the awarding ceremony. The statement said that the video aimed to promote the Special Olympics’ spirit and turn the public’s attention towards the development of athletes with disabilities and to encourage society to spread positive energy.
‘Every athlete with disabilities, winning or not, represented Macau’: Siu
Siu told the reporters before the event started that it aimed to encourage local athletes with disabilities to persevere. Siu pointed out that every athlete with disabilities, winning or not, represented Macau in the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games. Siu stressed he hoped families and friends would continue to support the athletes, adding that it is essential for athletes to receive encouragement in order to strive further.
Siu said that local athletes with disabilities are currently training for the 2022 Asian Para Games which will be held in Hangzhou, capital of Zhejiang province, as well as the 2025 National Paralympic Games and Special Olympics.
Siu told reporters that Macau’s acceptance rate towards people with disabilities is high compared to other regions in Asia. Siu urged the government to continue to encourage the public’s awareness and acceptance of people with disabilities.
Wynn Resorts (Macau) President and Executive Director Linda Chen Chih-ling (centre) other guests and Special Olympians pose after yesterday’s award ceremony at Wynn Palace. Photos: Ula Cheang
Chen Yu Chia, who won a silver and three bronze medals at the 11th National Games for Persons with Disabilities and the 8th National Special Olympics Games, addresses the “National Games Sharing of Macau Special Olympics Athletes & Macau Special Olympics Athletes Award Ceremony By Wynn Care 2022” at Wynn Palace in Cotai yesterday.
