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President Klaus Iohannis on Tuesday welcomed the Special Olympics Romania team to congratulate its athletes and underscore that access to sports must be open to all.
"Because of your hard work and dedication that you approach each competition with, you have managed to achieve excellence in your sporting activity. I want to congratulate you on your performance at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi! The medals you won are the witnesses of some intense training. I am convinced that it was not easy for you to find the drive to surpass yourselves. In fact, two years ago, I had the opportunity to see a sporting demonstration of some of you and your colleagues and I was also able to understand the seriousness and the difficulty of your work, under the careful guidance of your coaches. I am also delighted that the Special Olympics have received more attention in recent years. Sports competition emerged in Old Greece at a time when first democracies also emerged. Sports are essentially democratic, and access to sports must be open to all. I hope your efforts will show the entire world that hard work and perseverance are rewarded, and that it is up to each of you to achieve success," Iohannis said at a reception of the Special Olympics Romania team.
One of the athletes showed that team Romania won 56 medals at the Abu Dhabi competition.
"We are proud to have won 56 medals for Romania, because that gives us the confidence to continue our training seriously. It is by sports that we were able to display our skills and that is why we urge everyone to play sports," said Andreea Mustareata Pivniceru, a member of the team.
Iohannis received a collage of pictures from the Abu Dhabi competition from the Special Olympics Romania team and he gave them badges with the Romanian flag.
The 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games took place in Abu Dhabi, March 15-21. Romania's team won 56 medals. The Special Olympics World Summer Games are the world's most important sporting event for people with intellectual disabilities.
