Special Olympics Marshall & Starke Counties celebrates historic summer games success

Friday, July 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM

Indiana’s Marshall and Starke County Special Olympics programs are celebrating an extraordinarily successful trip to the State Summer Games in Terre Haute.

The local delegation brought an incredible group of 36 athletes to Terre Haute to compete in Swimming, Track & Field, Powerlifting, and Team Bowling. This summer also marked the historic debut of Bocce as a new sport for the program.

Swimming: 12 athletes practiced on Saturday mornings and Tuesday evenings at Plymouth Aquatic Center. They competed in the Huntington County Swim Invitational, Area 1 Sectionals in Valparaiso, and Summer Games at Rose Hulman in Terre Haute

Track & Field: Athletes practiced on Saturday mornings at Culver High School. They competed at sectionals in Valparaiso and the Summer Games at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

Bowling: 21 athletes practiced on Saturday mornings at Bowlaway Lanes. They competed at the Summer Games at Indiana State University in Terre Haute

Powerlifting: 11 athletes practice on Sundays at Hard Knox Gym. They competed at the Spring Meet at THIRST gym in Terre Haute and the Summer Games at Indiana State University in Terre Haute

Bocce: Two athletes practiced Saturday mornings at Culver High School. They competed at Sectionals in Valparaiso and Summer Games at Indiana State University in Terre Haute.

The athletes' hard work and dedication paid off spectacularly, bringing home a massive haul of 84 total awards: Gold: 20, Silver: 11, Bronze: 9, and 4th–8th Place Ribbons: 44

"Our athletes poured their hearts into training for the Summer Games, and these results show exactly what can be achieved with dedication and strong community support," said Jackie Ziaja, County Coordinator. "To see our veteran competitors excel and our new Bocce athletes shine on the state stage was incredibly rewarding."