Special Olympics Georgia Athletes Leave for National Competitions Saturday, July 17

ATLANTA, July 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Saturday, July 17, Special Olympics athletes from Georgia will take part in the 2010 Cessna Citation Special Olympics Airlift, which will bring in 800 athletes and coaches from across the United States to take part in the 2010 Special Olympics USA National Games, July 18-23 in Lincoln, Neb.

A send-off  will be from 6 a.m. until 7:30 a.m. at the main terminal of the Peachtree-DeKalb Airport, located at 2325 Chamblee Tucker Rd.

Nationwide, more than 160 private jets have been donated, with many of the planes making multiple trips to bring athletes and take them home. The jets will be landing approximately every two minutes for a 9-hour period on Saturday, July 17. Georgia athletes will compete alongside 3,000 other athletes.

The following coaches and athletes will compete at National Games: Senior Unified Softball Team of  Jones County: Coaches Leah Bodnarchuk, Blake Lyons and Graham Nash; athletes Keith Norman, Chinassa Hill, Olivia Nelson, Trace Scott, Michael Wooten, Brenda Drawhorn, Jeremy Pitts, Chelsey McKinney, Steven Ryle, Heath Tyre, Tony Wilbert, Jonathan Boutwell, and Marcus Wooten.

Athletes competing in Rhythmic Gymnastics are from Carrollton, Cobb and Columbia counties:  DeAsia Manley, Keiria McCaskill, Amber Shrewsberry and Lani DeMello. Their coach is Jennifer Gunnells of Carrollton Parks & Recreation. The Head of Delegation for Team Georgia is Kelli Britt of Special Olympics Georgia's state office.

The Georgia team is sponsored by AON, Superior Essex, 11Alive, BB&T, Carmax, The Coca-Cola Company, and PGA Superstore and Fogelman Management Group.

Special Olympics Georgia (SOGA)

SOGA provides year-round sports training and athletic competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for nearly 23,000 children and adults with intellectual disabilities, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy, and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympic athletes and the community. For more information, visit www.specialolympicsga.org

SOURCE Special Olympics Georgia