"Let me win, but if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt." This is the Special Olympics athlete's oath, and we heard it recited again by roughly 1,500 athletes from across Europe and Eurasia during the Special Olympics European Youth Games here in Rome.
It was the largest event our country had ever hosted for people with intellectual disabilities. We were delighted to accept the invitation to the opening ceremony, still carrying with us the joyful atmosphere from the previous year's Italian games (see Ombre e Luci no. 3/05).
But this time, athletes had come from other countries—Ukraine, Turkey, Malta, Russia—speaking different languages, shaped by different cultures. Yet the joy and festivity were the same, because they came from the heart.
During the opening ceremony, a politician's words struck me: "You have already won by being here." At first, they annoyed me. They felt shallow, dripping with pity and condescension—exactly what these athletes don't need. These are serious competitors. They train hard all year to test themselves against their peers.
They work under specialized coaches and technical staff, as Prof. Paola Mengoni, technical director of Special Olympics Italia, explained to us. Many of the coaches are former athletes or physical education teachers (with qualifications like ISEF certification) who complete training courses to better support their athletes—not just athletically, but, perhaps more importantly, as human beings. The overall preparation mirrors youth sports training, though it's adapted for adults, which requires a different approach to coaching. Between coach and athlete, as you might imagine, bonds form quickly—friendships rooted in deep trust, mutual confidence, and genuine collaboration. Sport, as Paola Mengoni likes to say, is almost beside the point, even though it's pursued seriously. What matters is that it sets the young person on a path toward independence. In the days that followed, watching the various competitions and talking with parents, I changed my mind about the politician's words. They had already won—not just races, but something far more valuable: their own autonomy. They had left home, often separated from their parents, to live in unfamiliar places and navigate new situations, facing the unexpected.
Huberta Pott, 2006