After three full days of hard-fought competition, the 2008 Southern California Special Olympics came to an end Sunday on the campus of Cal State Long Beach. The event drew thousands to the Pyramid, track, swimming pool and other campus locations where athletes from delegations all over the Southland competed for coveted Special Olympic medals (we’re tallying up a medal count for you – looks like Long Beach defended homecourt pretty well).
You can read all about the weekend’s festivities in Mike Guardabascio’s Special Olympics wrap-up post, just click here.
The closing ceremony brought a special surprise guest to help the athletes put an end to the games. International soccer (football?) star David Beckham gave a speech, handed out an award and signed autographs for fans. You can view our video of Beckham’s appearance below:
But the real superstars were the athletes this weekend, and none more than Matthew Prinster, who came away from the games with three medals but had to endure so much to achieve them. For reminding us what can be done when we are challenged, Prinster was awarded the 2008 Most Inspirational Award. View California Special Olympics founder Rafer Johnson’s words and a touching reaction from Prinster below:
Congratulations to all of the athletes!