Athletes compete in NC Special Olympics

More than 1,500 athletes gathered in Raleigh and Cary on Saturday to compete in the 2015 Special Olympics Summer Games.

Posted 11:16 p.m. May 30, 2015 — Updated 11:16 p.m. May 30, 2015

RALEIGH, N.C. — More than 1,500 athletes gathered in Raleigh and Cary on Saturday to compete in the 2015 Special Olympics Summer Games.

Athletes will compete in six different sports this year, including, aquatics, athletics, gymnastics, powerlifting, softball and volleyball.

"I think they key to this is that Special Olympics athletes, folks who have intellectual disabilities, are going to have the same great sports moments as anyone else," said Keith Fishburne, president of Special Olympics North Carolina. "There are going to be close races, there are going to be races that are blow outs, but at the end of the day Special Olympics athletes are just celebrating the fact that the community has come together to help put this event on."

Opening ceremony kicked off Friday evening at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion in Walnut Creek and event will continue at various venues on Sunday.

Admission to the summer games is free. For more information, visit the Special Olympics North Carolina website or call 1-800-843-6276.

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