Inclusion Through Education
Tags: CEO, Business, Inclusion, Sports, Revolution

A Conversation with Special Olympics CEO Mary Davis

Photo by © Adam Nurkiewicz / Mediasport

He was 16 hours in. His feet ached of blisters, cuts, and bruises. His whole body was exhausted, screaming at him to stop. He had swum 2.4 miles, cycled 112 miles, and was now on his way to completing the final stage of his journey, a 26.2-mile run. Every step brought him closer to his goal, and every step forward meant ignoring the creeping self-doubt in his mind.

16 hours, 46 minutes, and 9 seconds after he began his journey, the hard work and pain paid off… He heard his name announced over the speaker as he crossed the finish line… “Chris Nikic, you are an Ironman.”

On November 7th, 2020, Chris Nikic completed his first Ironman. It’s an incredible feat for anyone to accomplish, but there’s something about Chris’s story that makes it that much more impressive — Chris was the first athlete with Down Syndrome ever to complete an Ironman.

It’s a powerful story, but it’s not as unbelievable as you think. And that’s the main point that MAry Davis, the CEO of Special Olympics wants everyone to understand. Davis has spent her life inspiring those with intellectual disabilities to reach their full potential, to create a more welcoming environment and end discrimination by opening the hearts and minds of the 97% of people who do not have intellectual disability. This quest, she says, is the inclusion revolution that Special Olympics is leading.

“How do we create an environment for them so that they are more inclusive in everything that they do?” Davis asks. “And that [there is] more acceptance of people with intellectual disability in their communities and that they truly understand the gifts and the talents and the great benefits that all persons, no matter who or what they are, can bring the richness they can bring to communities and to society.”

The belief within Special Olympics is that inclusion and helping those with intellectuall disabilities reach their potential has a multitude of positive impacts. Davis says that, in fact, people without intellectual disabilities can learn from this Special Olympic community, and it goes far beyond the obstacles they face or the Herculean effort they put forth to run an Ironman.

“They are the best teachers that we have to teach love, to teach joy, to teach compassion, to teach beauty and to teach fearlessness as well,” Davis says. “And all the other things, to teach courage, to teach that determination. And they do. It’s not that they can, they do teach us so much…It’s a joy.”

Currently, Special Olympics has 6 million athletes in its program. But with 200 million people in the world with intellectual disability, Davis says there is a lot of expansion still to do, which can be a challenge as backward mindsets, and ignorance are found in different parts of the world.

“We go into all these countries to change attitudes, to change mindsets, to change behavior, and to have people understand,” she says. “And one of the great challenges for us is that over 60 or 70% of our athletes come from developing countries. And in many of those countries, it’s a stigma to have a child with intellectual disability.”

How is Special Olympics overcoming that stigma? How does the organization reach people who are not naturally inclined to lean into inclusion? Find out on Business X factors.

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