AMBASSADOR GALT: Good morning, everyone. Sain baitsgaana uu.
“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.” As Mary Gu has said, this is the oath of Special Olympians from all corners of the globe.
These words embody the true spirits of athletic competition and good sportsmanship.
Every day, around the world—in more than 180 countries—Special Olympics competitions are taking place.
Founded nearly 50 years ago in the United States, the Special Olympics now include more than 4 million athletes competing in nearly 100,000 events each year.
And I am very proud that Special Olympics Mongolia is one of the newest programs anywhere in the world.
At the Special Olympics in Los Angeles, 16 Mongolian athletes participated and they went on to win 3 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze medals in a variety of sports.
We are very proud of their performance in Los Angeles and they can provide an inspiration to all of you here today.
I am also very proud of support of the United States Peace Corps to Special Olympics Mongolia.
In November 2015, Peace Corps volunteers organized the first Special Olympics competition in Uvurkhangai, and earlier this month, another group of volunteers arranged winter games in Bayan-Ulgii that included participants from the western provinces.
So, good luck to all of the competitors today. Thank you very much for your participation. Each of you is an athlete, each of you is brave, and you are all winners.
Thank you very much.
