{"id":391321,"date":"2019-08-26T07:00:27","date_gmt":"2019-08-26T14:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=391321"},"modified":"2019-08-25T13:51:25","modified_gmt":"2019-08-25T20:51:25","slug":"special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/","title":{"rendered":"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Molly Griswold, Swimming World College Intern.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>\u201cWe are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.\u201d -JK Rowling<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.jointherevolution.org\/50-game-changers\/unified-sports\"><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Division can occur both within and between sports teams due to a variety factors. Unification, however, plays a vital role in success for all sports, including swimming. Often better than going solo, teammates can join together to accomplish specific individual and team goals. Despite historical separation of competitions featuring athletes with versus those without disabilities, Special Olympics has vowed to bridge the gap. To promote cohesive practice and play, the organization has created a program referred to as<\/span> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jointherevolution.org\/50-game-changers\/unified-sports\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unified Sports<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">According to Special Olympics, \u201c<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unified Sports was inspired by a simple principle: training together and playing together is a quick path to friendship and understanding for athletes with and without intellectual disabilities.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"oembed-wrap\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Special Olympics Unified Sports\u00ae &amp; Social Inclusion\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mMVTz_C7X60?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2><strong>Unified Swimming in Action<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Broward County Special Olympics in South Florida is just one entity that participates in Unified Sports. Athletes participate in open-water swims (usually a mile long) alongside a \u201cpartner\u201d. Swimmers race side-by-side, and upon completion with medals wrapped around their necks, share their victories together.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_391327\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-391327\" data-attachment-id=\"391327\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/special-olympics-nsu-swimmers\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-nsu-swimmers.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1399,843\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"special-olympics-nsu-swimmers\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;special-olympics-nsu-swimmers&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Nova Southeastern University Swimmers and Special Olympic athletes pose with their medals. Photo Courtesy: Broward County Special Olympics&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-nsu-swimmers-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-nsu-swimmers-1024x617.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-391327 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-nsu-swimmers-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"special-olympics-nsu-swimmers\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-391327\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Nova Southeastern University Swimmers and Special Olympic athletes pose with their medals. Photo Courtesy: Broward County Special Olympics<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Swim Miami Mile recently took place on May 5, 2019, at the Miami Marine Stadium. The event was organized in conjunction with the three-day <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/meet\/2019-open-water-nationals-and-junior-nationals\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2019 U.S. Open Water Swimming Championships<\/span><\/a> running concurrently at the same venue. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the almost 400 competitors began their races with the Miami skyline in sight, ten Special Olympics athletes and their Unified Partners entered the water as one of the \u201cwaves\u201d (similar to heats in pool races).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Within this environment, the merging of athletes helps to create relationships and promote inclusion.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Hannah Pa<\/b><b>riseault<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Nova Southeastern University swimmer and special education major, talks about her experience with Unified Sports: \u201cUnified Sports promote social inclusion and tolerance, which is so important for all athletes with and without intellectual disabilities. My own experience as a partner in the open water mile swim with Special Olympics Broward County creates an incredible bond between partner and athlete that can break down negative attitudes. Unified Sports for me promote inclusion in sports and everyday life in a positive and fun atmosphere. I feel grateful that I have the opportunity to be a part of this extraordinary program.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_391332\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-391332\" data-attachment-id=\"391332\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1724,1122\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Hannah Pariseault (far right) pictured with Special Olympics athletes and partners. Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners-1024x666.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-391332 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"special-olympic-open-water-unified-partners\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-391332\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Hannah Pariseault (far right) pictured with Special Olympics athletes and partners. Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County<\/p><\/div>\n<h2><b>Embracing Camaraderie Through Competition<\/b><\/h2>\n<p>Many of the athletes participating in Special Olympics have been involved for countless years. The swimmers and families have therefore been able to witness the evolution of inclusion.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_391328\" style=\"width: 460px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-391328\" data-attachment-id=\"391328\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1469,1962\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Gianni Mercado and Margaret Johnson pose with unified partner and friend, Molly Griswold. Photo Courtesy: Molly Griswold&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-767x1024.jpg\" class=\"size-medium-small wp-image-391328\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-450x601.jpg\" alt=\"molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson\" width=\"450\" height=\"601\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-450x601.jpg 450w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-150x200.jpg 150w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-767x1024.jpg 767w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-300x401.jpg 300w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-1200x1603.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-674x900.jpg 674w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-374x500.jpg 374w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-245x327.jpg 245w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson-533x712.jpg 533w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/molly-griswold-gianni-mercado-margaret-johnson.jpg 1469w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-391328\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Gianni Mercado and Margaret Johnson pose with unified partner and friend, Molly Griswold. Photo Courtesy: Molly Griswold<\/p><\/div>\n<p><b>Gianni Mercado <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">has been swimming with the Special Olympics for over seven years. Although a natural sprinter, Mercado worked diligently for three years to compete in open water competition. Even before Unified Sports existed, he competed in the Swim Miami series and has done extremely well. Even more important than performance reasons is the social aspect. Mercado explains the driving force behind his aquatic pursuits: &#8220;I like swimming with Special Olympics because I meet new friends.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His mother, <\/span><b>Margaret Johnson,<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> talks about the importance of unified sports for everyone involved: \u201cThe inclusion of our athletes is so important for not only their social skills but a way for them to show off their amazing swimming ability. It is so important for inclusion of our athletes because it is life changing for them as well as those in their presence. We are blessed for those who participate and continue to spread the word to get more involved.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unified Sports does not only aid in creating meaningful friendships and fun for those who participate, but it also sheds light on the greater importance of recognition and inclusion. Through this program, Special Olympic athletes showcase their outstanding courage, competitiveness and capabilities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Two of Broward County\u2019s athletes, <strong>Gina Grant<\/strong> and <strong>Lee Scharf<\/strong>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/local\/broward\/pompano-beach\/fl-cn-deerfield-beach-world-games-swim-20190227-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">qualified to compete at the Special Olympics World Summer Games<\/a> in Abu Dhabi this spring. In fact, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sun-sentinel.com\/community\/pier-review\/fl-cn-sp-scharf-special-olympics-world-games-20190516-pe22shvuhfhxvc6vvjmcjcw46i-story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Scharf<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> went on to win<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Gold in the 1500 for open water swimming.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><strong>The &#8220;Finish&#8221; is Just the Beginning<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_391330\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-391330\" data-attachment-id=\"391330\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/special-olympics-running-into-water\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-into-water.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1763,1062\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"special-olympics-running-into-water\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;special-olympics-running-into-water&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Running into the ocean at the start of the swim. Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-into-water-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-into-water-1024x617.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-391330 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-into-water-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"special-olympics-running-into-water\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-391330\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Running into the ocean at the start of the swim. Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Ryan Ruch<\/strong>, Manager of Sports Training and Competition for Special Olympics Florida &#8211; Broward County, reflects on the importance of breaking these barriers and igniting change for the future.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> &#8220;Unified Sports can have such a profound impact on not only the lives of Special Olympics athletes, but also their Unified Partners. It breaks down any preconceived images of what someone with intellectual disabilities can\u2019t do, and focuses on what they can do alongside those without ID. It also changes school and community climates, showing positive growths and a decline in bullying.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Allowing athletes to swim together as Unified Partners is a huge step for understanding social impact. It is crucial to look beyond differences and to participate \u201cas one\u201d. In those brightly colored caps running down the beach, there is no distinction between athletes with or without disabilities.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unification happens as athletes chat among themselves before the start of the race or when partners physically mirror each other\u2019s strokes during the swim. But more significantly, unification at its best occurs when a Special Olympic athlete says to his or her partner, \u201cLet\u2019s run to the finish line together.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_391329\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-391329\" data-attachment-id=\"391329\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/special-olympics-running-to-finish-line\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-to-finish-line.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"1197,904\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"special-olympics-running-to-finish-line\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;special-olympics-running-to-finish-line&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Jogging to the finish line side-by-side. Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-to-finish-line-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-to-finish-line-1024x773.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-391329 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-running-to-finish-line-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"special-olympics-running-to-finish-line\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-391329\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Jogging to the finish line. Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County<\/p><\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Parallel footprints created by running up the beach are symbolic of the purpose and importance of Unified Partners altogether. Step by step and side by side, we are all stronger together.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>~To find out more information about becoming a Special Olympics volunteer, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.specialolympics.org\/get-involved\/volunteer\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong>To learn about becoming an athlete, click <a href=\"https:\/\/www.specialolympics.org\/get-involved\/athlete\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">here<\/a>. ~<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><b><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">-All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.<\/span><\/i><\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Molly Griswold, Swimming World College Intern. \u201cWe are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided.\u201d -JK Rowling Division can occur both within and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7386,"featured_media":391326,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,11],"tags":[81348,105505,105645,59364,105507,105506,45522],"class_list":["post-391321","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-open-water","tag-2019-us-open-water-nationals","tag-gianni-mercado","tag-gina-grant","tag-hannah-pariseault","tag-lee-scharf","tag-margaret-johnson","tag-special-olympics"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners - Swimming World<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Special Olympics has vowed ro create cohesive practice and play between athletes with and without disabilities, referred to as Unified Sports.\u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Special Olympics has vowed ro create cohesive practice and play between athletes with and without disabilities, referred to as Unified Sports.\u00a0\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-08-26T14:00:27+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-08-25T20:51:25+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1080\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Molly Griswold\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Molly Griswold\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Molly Griswold\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f8167286f7de5ed5407f1265e8bace03\"},\"headline\":\"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-26T14:00:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-25T20:51:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\"},\"wordCount\":1037,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"2019 US Open Water Nationals\",\"Gianni Mercado\",\"Gina Grant\",\"Hannah Pariseault\",\"Lee Scharf\",\"Margaret Johnson\",\"Special Olympics\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentary\",\"Open Water\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\",\"name\":\"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners - Swimming World\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-08-26T14:00:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-08-25T20:51:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"Special Olympics has vowed ro create cohesive practice and play between athletes with and without disabilities, referred to as Unified Sports.\u00a0\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg\",\"width\":1080,\"height\":720,\"caption\":\"Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"description\":\"The Global Leader in Aquatic News\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Swimming World\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg\",\"width\":1799,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Swimming World\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld\",\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f8167286f7de5ed5407f1265e8bace03\",\"name\":\"Molly Griswold\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bd51cd54eb4c07a0e1e3d4e8f571e2e?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bd51cd54eb4c07a0e1e3d4e8f571e2e?s=96&d=blank&r=pg\",\"caption\":\"Molly Griswold\"},\"description\":\"Originally from Freehold, NJ, Molly Griswold began swimming at the age of five and primarily trained for the Ocean County YMCA for 13 years. Molly graduated from Freehold Township High School in 2017 with an International Baccalaureate Diploma and moved to Florida to attend Nova Southeastern University. Molly is a member of the NSU Sharks Swim Team, a Division II program located in the Sunshine State Conference. She is currently a dual admission sophomore and plans to graduate with a marketing major and communications minor in 2021, then an MBA in 2022. She has future hopes of working for the United States Olympic Committee.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/molly-griswold\/\"}]}<\/script>\r\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners - Swimming World","description":"Special Olympics has vowed ro create cohesive practice and play between athletes with and without disabilities, referred to as Unified Sports.\u00a0","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners","og_description":"Special Olympics has vowed ro create cohesive practice and play between athletes with and without disabilities, referred to as Unified Sports.\u00a0","og_url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/","og_site_name":"Swimming World","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","article_published_time":"2019-08-26T14:00:27+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-08-25T20:51:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1080,"height":720,"url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Molly Griswold","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@swimmingworld","twitter_site":"@swimmingworld","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Molly Griswold","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/"},"author":{"name":"Molly Griswold","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f8167286f7de5ed5407f1265e8bace03"},"headline":"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners","datePublished":"2019-08-26T14:00:27+00:00","dateModified":"2019-08-25T20:51:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/"},"wordCount":1037,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg","keywords":["2019 US Open Water Nationals","Gianni Mercado","Gina Grant","Hannah Pariseault","Lee Scharf","Margaret Johnson","Special Olympics"],"articleSection":["Commentary","Open Water"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/","name":"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners - Swimming World","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg","datePublished":"2019-08-26T14:00:27+00:00","dateModified":"2019-08-25T20:51:25+00:00","description":"Special Olympics has vowed ro create cohesive practice and play between athletes with and without disabilities, referred to as Unified Sports.\u00a0","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg","width":1080,"height":720,"caption":"Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/special-olympics-promote-inclusion-with-unified-partners\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Special Olympics Promote Inclusion With Unified Partners"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","name":"Swimming World","description":"The Global Leader in Aquatic News","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization","name":"Swimming World","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/SWorld_BLKBKG-1.jpg","width":1799,"height":900,"caption":"Swimming World"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld","https:\/\/x.com\/swimmingworld","https:\/\/instagram.com\/swimmingworldmag\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SwimmingWorldSPI"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/f8167286f7de5ed5407f1265e8bace03","name":"Molly Griswold","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bd51cd54eb4c07a0e1e3d4e8f571e2e?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0bd51cd54eb4c07a0e1e3d4e8f571e2e?s=96&d=blank&r=pg","caption":"Molly Griswold"},"description":"Originally from Freehold, NJ, Molly Griswold began swimming at the age of five and primarily trained for the Ocean County YMCA for 13 years. Molly graduated from Freehold Township High School in 2017 with an International Baccalaureate Diploma and moved to Florida to attend Nova Southeastern University. Molly is a member of the NSU Sharks Swim Team, a Division II program located in the Sunshine State Conference. She is currently a dual admission sophomore and plans to graduate with a marketing major and communications minor in 2021, then an MBA in 2022. She has future hopes of working for the United States Olympic Committee.","url":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/author\/molly-griswold\/"}]}},"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":"Photo Courtesy: Special Olympics Broward County","source_text":"","source_url":""},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/special-olympics-miami-e1566531176276.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p56Jja-1DND","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391321","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7386"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=391321"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/391321\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/391326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=391321"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=391321"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=391321"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}