ESPN HistorySpecial Olympics

#TBT: ESPN and Special Olympics through the years

The 2015 Special Olympics World Games Los Angeles have provided an unforgettable week of athletic achievement and inspiring personal features. ESPN’s coverage will culminate with the closing ceremonies this Sunday (ESPN2, 9 p.m. ET).

This week’s #TBT looks back at ESPN’s involvement with Special Olympics through the years including photos featuring former SportsCenter anchors Robin Roberts and Gayle Gardner.

ESPN’s Corporate Citizenship program manager Lisa Kovlakas has been involved with ESPN’s culture of volunteerism with Special Olympics since 1984. She also currently sits on the board of directors for Special Olympics Connecticut and, along with her family, is heavily involved with Unified Sports in her community.

“My first volunteering experience for Special Olympics was at the ESPN Celebrity Sports Carnival at the Hartford Civic Center. Along with several other of my fellow ESPN colleagues, I was immediately hooked and couldn’t wait for the next employee volunteer opportunity to be around these talented athletes,” Kovlakas said.

“ESPN has catapulted Special Olympics to a new level of awareness and acceptance through the years and the World Games coverage gives people with different intellectual abilities the platform to show that we all share so many common abilities through our love of sports. I’m so proud to work here.”

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