Douglas County Special Olympics sends 10 athletes to USA Games

Ten Douglas County Special Olympics athletes are heading to Minnesota for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, including Ethan Folks, Grayson Mack, Hannah Loub, Ethan Kuhlmann and Rebecca Shepherd. The national meet runs June 20-26 and will spread across the University of Minnesota, Blaine, Saint Paul and Bloomington, giving Douglas County athletes a spot on one of the biggest stages available to Special Olympics competitors.

The scale is hard to miss. Official Games materials say more than 3,000 athletes will compete in 16 sports, while Special Olympics Minnesota says the event will bring 4,000 athletes, 1,500 coaches, 10,000 volunteers and 75,000 fans from all 50 states. The organization describes the USA Games as the largest humanitarian event ever held in Minnesota.

For Douglas County Special Olympics, sending 10 athletes to a single USA Games is a major achievement. Jacqui Folks, the county program coordinator, said the size of the local delegation stands out for one program, especially because the athletes had to qualify through nomination or application after months and years of training, preparation and persistence.

The Douglas County group will compete in swimming, bocce ball, flag football and cornhole. That lineup puts local athletes alongside the Kansas delegation, which lists 66 athletes across the state and reflects the reach of Special Olympics Kansas, a program that serves more than 5,000 athletes in 21 sports.

Ethan Folks of Eudora offers a clear picture of what that journey can look like. Special Olympics Kansas highlighted him as a USA Games swimmer after more than 10 years in the program, beginning in bowling and working through sensory overload and team-setting challenges along the way. He and Grayson Mack also competed in track and field at the 2025 state Summer Games, showing the steady buildup that can lead to a national berth.

For Douglas County, the Games are more than a trip to Minnesota. They are a rare countywide showing of talent, discipline and inclusion, with 10 athletes carrying local pride into a competition that only comes around every four years.