Special Olympics Great Britain, the largest UK provider of year-round sports training and competition for children and adults of all abilities with intellectual disabilities, is delighted to announce its first 58 athletes who will compete at next year’s Special Olympics World Games.
The 16th Special Olympics World Games, which are due to take place in Berlin in Germany for the first-time next summer (17 – 25 June), will be the world’s largest inclusive sporting event in 2023 with more than 7,000 athletes with intellectual disabilities competing across 26 sports over nine days.
The first 58* competing athletes will represent Team Special Olympics GB in athletics, basketball, bocce, cycling, equestrian, unified football, golf, artistic & rhythmic gymnastics, swimming, table tennis and tennis. Additionally, the athletes will be supported by 28 coaches and a further 22 support and medical staff.
Our team of Special Olympics GB athletes, are:
| Athlete | Sport | Club |
| Joshua Longbottom | Athletics | SO Powys |
| Rosa Huntington | Athletics | SO Essex |
| Rosie Porter | Athletics | SO St Albans |
| John Hayes | Athletics | SO West Wales |
| Ella Crawley | Basketball (Female Only) | SO Greater Manchester |
| Sophie Widdowson | Basketball (Female Only) | SO Derbyshire |
| Fatima Omarji | Basketball (Female Only) | SO Leicestershire and Rutland |
| Julie Freestone | Basketball (Female Only) | SO Leicestershire and Rutland |
| Grace Colverd | Basketball (Female Only) | SO Camden |
| Llinos Gilmore Jones | Bocce | SO West Wales |
| Michael Beynon | Bocce | SO North East Wales |
| Ben Fai Lankshear | Cycling | SO Surrey |
| James Huntington | Cycling | SO Greater Manchester |
| Milena Oktas | Cycling | SO Greater Manchester |
| Sophie Bonner | Cycling | SO Surrey |
| Natalie Salter | Cycling | SO Surrey |
| Dominic Hsu | Cycling | SO Surrey |
| Ella Curtis | Cycling | Bradford Disability Sport & Leisure |
| Niall Guite | Cycling | SO Sheffield |
| Chris Bradley | Equestrian | SO St Albans |
| Amelia Boult | Equestrian | South West Equestrian |
| Lauren White | Equestrian | South West Equestrian |
| Phillip Palmer | Equestrian | SO St Albans |
| Charlie Hood | Football (Unified Only) | SO Essex |
| Bradley Stuart | Football (Unified Only) | SO Essex |
| Daniel Braithwaite | Football (Unified Only) | SO Essex |
| Harry Camm | Football (Unified Only) | SO Essex |
| Jack Venturini | Football (Unified Only) | SO Essex |
| Sam Goldney | Football (Unified Only) | SO St Albans |
| Jake Hulley | Golf | SO St Albans |
| Yasmin Booth | Golf | SO Greater Manchester |
| Rhiannon Evans | Golf | SO West Midlands Golf |
| Alexander Thompson | Golf | SO Sheffield |
| James Bailey | Golf | SO Sheffield |
| Emma Thomson | Gymnastics (Artistic) | SO City of Glasgow Gymnastics |
| Craig McGarrity | Gymnastics (Artistic) | SO Scotland |
| Chloe Russell | Gymnastics (Artistic) | SO Jersey |
| Grace Beales | Gymnastics (Artistic) | SO Suffolk |
| Simon Booth | Gymnastics (Artistic) | SO Suffolk |
| Jack Jacobs | Gymnastics (Artistic) | SO Suffolk |
| Felicity Martin | Gymnastics (Rhythmic) | SO Cheshire East |
| Daisy Chetwood | Gymnastics (Rhythmic) | SO Cheshire East |
| Poppy Wood-Wright | Gymnastics (Rhythmic) | SO Cheshire East |
| Ellie-Bea Thomas | Gymnastics (Rhythmic) | SO Leicestershire and Rutland |
| Jessica Poyser | Swimming | SO Cheshire North and West |
| Taylor Mackenzie | Swimming | SO Scotland and Monifieth Swim Club |
| Adam Loubani | Swimming | SO City of Hull |
| Charlotte Foster | Swimming | Blackpool Polar Bears |
| Nicholas Balls | Swimming | SO Teasdale |
| Will Browning | Swimming | SO North Yorkshire |
| Alexander Rae | Table Tennis | SO Grampian |
| Fredrika Karldsson | Table Tennis | SO North Devon |
| Jessica Bromley | Table Tennis | SO Cheshire North and West |
| Ben Cliffe | Table Tennis | SO Cheshire North and West |
| Adam Brownsword | Tennis | SO Camden |
| Lily Mills | Tennis | SO Camden |
| Emily Clarke | Tennis | SO City of York |
| Matthew Brough | Tennis | SO City of York & York Disability Tennis Network |
Colin Dyer, CEO of Special Olympics GB, said: “Huge congratulations to all of our athletes who have been selected to represent Team SOGB at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin 2023.
“To represent Team SOGB as an athlete with intellectual disabilities deserves the highest praise and recognition. Given the incredibly challenging circumstances that we have encountered in recent years, winning a place in the Special Olympics World Games squad is not only an incredibly proud moment for our athletes, but for their loved ones and our fantastic team of volunteers who make Special Olympics GB happen.
“We’re also very grateful for the backing of our partners on this journey to Berlin 2023 and are delighted that Jingle Jam, the world’s biggest charity gaming event, has chosen Special Olympics GB as one of its recognised charities this year.
“Not only will this help raise awareness of the work we do to transform the lives of people living with intellectual disabilities through the power of sport, but it will vitally, help us to use the awareness generated by the Special Olympics World Games to reach out to more and more people with intellectual disabilities and help them get involved with the life-changing impact of Special Olympics.”
The Special Olympics World Games are the largest inclusive sports events in the world and Berlin 2023, which follows on from Abu Dhabi 2019, is aiming is to help achieve greater recognition and social participation of people with intellectual disabilities.
Stephen Walker, head of delegation for the Special Olympics World Summer Games, said: “Huge congratulations to all the athletes who will be representing Team SOGB at next year’s Games.
“For our athletes making up Team SOGB, representing your country is a massive honour and we are very much looking forward to working with them all over the next few months to ensure they are ready to have the best possible time at the Games. The Special Olympics World Games 2023 will be a celebration of inclusion, and we cannot wait to see our athletes in action doing their country proud.”
