The 19th edition of the 2026 Special Olympics Romania National Games will take place in Ploiesti from August 28 to 30, in an edition dedicated to the Year of Nadia Comaneci, bringing together more than 300 athletes from 30 counties and Bucharest, according to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday.

Romania's most important inclusive sporting event dedicated to people with intellectual disabilities will bring together athletes representing 64 foundations, associations, mainstream and special schools, and DGASPC centres from 30 counties and Bucharest. They will compete over three days in bocce, athletics and swimming. The athletes will be accompanied by 150 coaches, teachers and family members, 150 volunteers, as well as medical and technical staff.

'This year's edition has a special significance, as it is dedicated to the Year of Nadia Comaneci, celebrating Romanian sporting excellence and the values that sport can pass on to future generations: courage, discipline, perseverance, confidence and the desire to push beyond one's own limits,' the press release says.

The first day of competition will begin with the preliminary bocce and athletics events at the Petroleum-Gas University of Ploiesti (UPG). Athletes will also receive free medical assessments there as part of Special Olympics' Healthy Athletes programme, dedicated to athletes' health.

The preliminary bocce and athletics events and free medical assessments at UPG will take place on August 29. On the same day, the preliminary swimming competitions will be held at the Didactic Swimming Pool in Campina.

The evening of August 29 will be dedicated to one of the most moving moments of the National Games: the Flame of Hope Run, the equivalent of the Olympic Flame within the Special Olympics movement.

The Flame of Hope will be carried by Special Olympics athletes, local sporting personalities, representatives of the law enforcement authorities and representatives of Ploiesti City Hall. The route will start outside Ploiesti City Hall and end at Olimpia Hall in Ploiesti, where the Opening Ceremony will take place. The ceremony will bring together the delegations of more than 300 athletes and the 150 invited coaches, teachers and family members. The programme will include the parade of delegations, the lighting of the Flame of Hope, the raising of the Special Olympics flag and the recitation of the Special Olympics Oath, alongside specially prepared artistic performances.

August 30 will be dedicated to the final competitions and medal ceremonies. At Olimpia Hall in Ploiesti, athletes will compete in the final bocce and athletics events, followed by the medal ceremonies. At the same time, the final swimming events and medal ceremonies will take place at the Didactic Swimming Pool in Campina.

'Sport gives people with intellectual disabilities the opportunity to discover and demonstrate their abilities, as well as to play an active role in their communities. At the National Games, every athlete comes with their own goal, their own story and their own journey to the starting line. What we see at the end is much more than a competition: we see confidence gained, limits overcome, friendships formed and people discovering that they can achieve more than they imagined,' said Cristian Ispas, National Director of Special Olympics Romania.

Nadia Comaneci has been a global ambassador for Special Olympics for more than three decades, taking part in local, regional and international events. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Mihai Tenea; EN - writing by: Cristina Zaharia)