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Koreans enthusiastic at Special Olympics opening ceremony

July 27, 2015
The South Korean Special Olympics team enters the Opening Ceremony inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday. (Yonhap)

The South Korean Special Olympics team enters the opening ceremony inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Saturday. (Yonhap)

The Special Olympics World Games kicked off with a spectacle Saturday at the opening ceremony inside the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where 6,500 athletes and 2,000 staff from 165 countries joined in the celebration.

Among those present were First Lady Michelle Obama, Stevie Wonder and Avril Lavigne. South Korean figure skating queen Yuna Kim entered with the 94-athlete-strong South Korean team.

Kim is expected to participate in a special badminton event Tuesday at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The Korean athletes will compete in 12 categories, among them track and field, swimming, volleyball, soccer, golf and badminton.

The games will run through Aug. 2 in venues around the city.

“The Special Olympics are a celebration of hope and courage for athletes to overcome their disabilities,” said Na Kyung-won, president of Special Olympics Korea. “I hope this is a chance for them to develop their spirit of challenge.”