WASHINGTON, DC—4 October 2021: Actor Chris Pratt and author Katherine Schwarzenegger have been named the newest Special Olympics Global Ambassadors, joining the frontlines of the global movement for inclusion of people with intellectual disabilities.
“Special Olympics athletes admire Katherine and Chris because they are relatable, genuine, and inspiring,” said Mary Davis, CEO of Special Olympics. “They have demonstrated unwavering dedication throughout their careers to lifting people up. They are incredibly influential as individuals and together they will invigorate our movement. We are proud to have Katherine and Chris join the inclusion revolution.”
“Special Olympics has always been a huge part of my life,” said Schwarzenegger, granddaughter of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, the founder of Special Olympics. “My grandmother dedicated her entire existence to being an advocate for those with special needs and my childhood consisted of going to SOI events and my cousins and I being camp counsellors at Camp Shriver. Chris and I are so thrilled to be a part of the SO family as a couple and to continue to spread the mission of SO and advocate whenever and wherever we can about inclusion, dignity and acceptance. This is a movement that speaks to our hearts as parents and individually.”
“I’ve had a lot of roles in my life—actor, producer, father—and I’m humbled by the chance to serve as an ambassador for Special Olympics,” Pratt said. “I’m continually amazed by the bravery and spirit of these wonderful athletes. I stand by Special Olympics on their quest to make the world a better, healthier and more joyful place—one athlete, one volunteer, one family member at a time.”
The couple will focus largely on Special Olympics Unified Sports ® and Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® programming, which fosters climates of acceptance and inclusion of students with intellectual disabilities in schools around the world. Sports, the heart of Special Olympics, was a distinct draw for Pratt.
Schwarzenegger is the New York Times bestselling author of The Gift of Forgiveness, and daughter of journalist, philanthropist, and author Maria Shriver and actor and former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Pratt begins filming Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 in Atlanta in November, where he and Schwarzenegger will be involved with Unified programming in metro area schools, in addition to virtual engagements.
Playing sports builds valuable skills relevant off the playing field, like discipline and teamwork. The Marvel Studios team is committed to hiring a Special Olympics athlete for a Production Assistant position, who will be a full-time, paid member of the film crew.
Special Olympics is providing the Unified Leadership training program for Marvel Studios, which shows leaders without disabilities how to improve their behaviours and practices, challenge the status quo, and make their organizations more inclusive.
The couple’s inaugural two-year term as ambassadors begins in October 2021.
As a service to our readers, Around the Rings will provide verbatim texts of selected press releases issued by Olympic-related organizations, federations, businesses and sponsors.
These press releases appear as sent to Around the Rings and are not edited for spelling, grammar or punctuation.
Recent Articles
Sinner-Alcaraz, the duel that came to succeed the three phenomenons
Beyond the final result, Roland Garros left the feeling that the Italian and the Spaniard will shape the great duel that came to help us through the duel for the end of the Federer-Nadal-Djokovic era.
Table tennis: Brazil’s Bruna Costa Alexandre will be Olympic and Paralympic in Paris 2024
She is the third in her sport and the seventh athlete to achieve it in the same edition; in Santiago 2023 she was the first athlete with disabilities to compete at the Pan American level and won a medal.
Rugby 7s: the best player of 2023 would only play the medal match in Paris
Argentinian Rodrigo Isgró received a five-game suspension for an indiscipline in the circuit’s decisive clash that would exclude him until the final or the bronze match; the Federation will seek to make the appeal successful.
Rhonex Kipruto, owner of the world record for the 10000 meters on the road, was suspended for six years
The Kenyan received the maximum sanction for irregularities in his biological passport and the Court considered that he was part of a system of “deliberate and sophisticated doping” to improve his performance. He will lose his record and the bronze medal at the Doha World Cup.
Katie Ledecky spoke about doping Chinese swimmers: “It’s difficult to go to Paris knowing that we’re going to compete with some of these athletes”
The American, a seven-time Olympic champion, referred to the case of the 23 positive controls before the Tokyo Games that were announced a few weeks ago and shook the swimming world. “I think our faith in some of the systems is at an all-time low,” he said.
