“Let me win. But if I cannot win, let me be brave in the attempt.”

Before every competition, Special Olympics athletes recite the Athlete Oath. The oath is as old as Special Olympics itself. Eunice Kennedy Shriver wrote the oath the morning of July 20, 1968, just before she opened the very first Special Olympics International Games.

The oath emphasizes the importance of trying for one’s personal best and inspires today’s athletes just as it did when first recited over 50 years ago.