EKU Special Olympics begin Friday in Madison County

MADISON COUNTY, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) – In Madison County, the Special Olympics State Summer Games begin Friday at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) in Richmond. Organizers expect more than a thousand Special Olympic athletes and over 500 volunteers from across the state to participate.

The opening ceremony for the Summer Games starts at 6:00 PM on Friday, with competitions taking place on both Friday and Saturday.

In the meantime, traffic alerts have been issued in multiple counties for the final leg of the Special Olympics Law Enforcement Torch Run. Thursday, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg carried the “Flame of Hope” torch through Louisville alongside police officers.

Friday, the torch will be escorted from Frankfort to Richmond, with stops in Lexington. The event kicked off Friday morning at the State Capitol in Frankfort and will continue with a run at the Nicholasville Police Department at 11:00 AM. The torch will move through Lexington around 1:30 PM, starting from the Old Morrison Building on the Transylvania University campus and heading to the Wildcat Statue on UK’s campus. There will also be a stop at the Old Fayette County Courthouse on Main Street.

At 3:30 PM Friday, a final leg ceremony will be held at the Richmond Police Department, followed by a short run to EKU’s campus for the lighting of the Special Olympics cauldron.