(Gillette, WY) – Special Olympics Wyoming is excited to be returning to Wyoming’s Energy Capitol April 30-May 2, 2026, with the State Summer Games! Athletes, coaches, fans, and supporters are gearing up for this event and are excited to return to action.
The ’26 Special Olympics Wyoming State Summer Games will feature competitions in Athletics (track and field), Basketball, Powerlifting, and Swimming across the three-day event. Venues for the competition include the CAM-PLEX Wyoming Center, Thunder Basin High School Gymnasium, Gillette College Pronghorn Center, Campbell County Aquatic Center, and the Campbell County Recreation Center.
Events will kick off on Thursday, April 30 with a Law Enforcement Torch Run. Athletes and members of law enforcement will complete their run at the Cambell County Rec Center where there will be music, food trucks and a celebration. Opening ceremonies will begin later that evening at the CAM-PLEX Wyoming Center, with the parade of athletes and the lighting of the Flame of Hope, signaling the start of competition. For more information on the Law Enforcement Torch Run to support Special Olympics Wyoming or to purchase a T-shirt, please visit the store.
Special Olympics Wyoming is excited to announce the Opening Ceremony speaker Olympic Gold Medalist, World Wrestling Champion and fellow Wyomingite, Rulon Gardner! “Rulon Gardner is an Olympic gold medalist who pulled off one of the greatest upsets in sports history when he defeated previously unbeaten Russian wrestler Alexander Karelin at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. His story of overcoming impossible odds extends far beyond the mat, having survived being stranded overnight in a Wyoming snowstorm and a plane crash into a frozen lake” (CAG Speakers). The Opening Ceremony takes place on Thursday, April 30 starting at 7pm at the CAM-PLEX in Gillette and is a free event and open to the public! The public is invited to attend and give a warm welcome to Rulon Gardner (limited seating available)!
This event will also feature some additional programming for athletes and Unified partners. The 2026 Youth Summit will be held on Thursday, April 30 from 4:30 pm to 6:00 pm at the CAM-PLEX. The event will host student leaders from middle and high schools throughout Wyoming, who will gather to discuss leadership, advocacy, and the power of inclusion.
There will also be free dental, foot, and hearing health screenings available for athlete attendees. On Friday, May 1, the Sheridan College Dental Hygiene program, Dr. Robert Grunfeld and the team at Black Hills Orthopedic and Spine Center, and Campbell County Health Collective Audiology will be a part of a Health Fair from 9:00am-12:00pm at the Campbell County Recreation Center.
Special Olympics needs volunteers to help make this competition a success! Please click here to sign up to volunteer, no experience needed!
More information about the event and a final schedule can be found here.
About Special Olympics Wyoming
Special Olympics Wyoming is a non-profit organization providing year-round sports training, athletic competition and other related programs to children and adults with intellectual disabilities; offering them continuing opportunities to realize their potential, develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage and experience joy and friendship. Special Olympics Wyoming changes lives by encouraging and empowering people with intellectual disabilities, promoting acceptance for all, and fostering communities of understanding and respect.
The Law Enforcement Torch Run (LETR)
The Law Enforcement Torch Run® for Special Olympics is the movement’s largest grass-roots fundraiser and public awareness vehicle, at its most basic level the Torch Run is an actual running event, in which officers and athletes run the Flame of Hope™ to the Opening Ceremonies of local Special Olympics competitions and State and National Games. Annually, more than 74,000 dedicated, compassionate and volunteer law enforcement officers participate in the torch run throughout 35 nations, 12 Canadian provinces, and 50 US states, raising more than $65 Million for Special Olympics programs globally in 2019 and over $733 Million since its inception in 1981.