Loretta Claiborne is an African-American global speaker who competes in the
Special OlympicsSpecial Olympics is an international organization created to two years, alternating between Summer and Winter Games. There are also local, national and regional competitons in over 150 countries worldwide.-History:...
. She has been honored with the 1996
Arthur AsheArthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the U.S...
ESPY-People:*Cecil Espy , American baseball player*Duane Espy, American baseball figure*James Pollard Espy , American meteorologist.*Mike Espy , American politician*William Gray Espy , American actor...
Courage AwardThe Arthur Ashe Courage Award is an award that is part of the ESPY Awards. Although it is a sport-oriented award, it is not limited to sports-related people or actions.-List of recipients:-References:***...
presented to her by
Denzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...
. Claiborne was the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Claiborne was born partially
blindBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and was unable to talk or walk until the age of four. She has completed over 25
marathonThe marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres that is usually run as a road race. The event is named after the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens...
s and has placed in the top 100 women finishers of the
Boston MarathonThe Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual...
twice.
Loretta Claiborne is an African-American global speaker who competes in the
Special OlympicsSpecial Olympics is an international organization created to two years, alternating between Summer and Winter Games. There are also local, national and regional competitons in over 150 countries worldwide.-History:...
. She has been honored with the 1996
Arthur AsheArthur Robert Ashe, Jr. was a professional tennis player, born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. During his career, he won three Grand Slam titles, putting him among the best ever from the U.S...
ESPY-People:*Cecil Espy , American baseball player*Duane Espy, American baseball figure*James Pollard Espy , American meteorologist.*Mike Espy , American politician*William Gray Espy , American actor...
Courage AwardThe Arthur Ashe Courage Award is an award that is part of the ESPY Awards. Although it is a sport-oriented award, it is not limited to sports-related people or actions.-List of recipients:-References:***...
presented to her by
Denzel WashingtonDenzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director and film producer. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin Carter, Melvin B...
. Claiborne was the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Claiborne was born partially
blindBlindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or neurological factors.Various scales have been developed to describe the extent of vision loss and define blindness...
and was unable to talk or walk until the age of four. She has completed over 25
marathonThe marathon is a long-distance foot race with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres that is usually run as a road race. The event is named after the fabled run of the Greek soldier Pheidippides, a messenger from the Battle of Marathon to Athens...
s and has placed in the top 100 women finishers of the
Boston MarathonThe Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the city of Boston, Massachusetts, on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897 and inspired by the success of the first modern-day marathon competition in the 1896 Summer Olympics, the Boston Marathon is the world's oldest annual...
twice. In 2000 Claiborne's life was the subject of "The Loretta Claiborne Story", a made for TV movie.
Loretta Claiborne competed in 6 Special Olympics world games.
- In the 1983 world games, she won a gold medal in the mile run.
- In the 1991 world games, Loretta won a gold medal in the 13-mile half marathon, and the silver medal in the 5k run.
- In the 1995 world games, she won 2 gold medals in singles bowling and in mixed double bowling.
- In 1999, Loretta won a gold medal in the 13 mile run, and the silver medal in the 3k run.
- In 2003, she won the gold medal in the 3k run, and the bronze medal in the mile run.
- In 2005, Loretta won the silver medal in figure skating at the winter world games.
She is also a karate black belt, has been in competing in the Special Olympics since 1970, and continues to train in running, figure skating, soccer, skiing, golf, basketball, softball, swimming, and bowling. Loretta was the 1981 Spirit of Special Olympics award recipient, and the 1988 state athlete of the year. She in on the Special Olympics Pennsylvania Board of Directors, and in 2007 returned to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
On 9 May 2009, the Smithsonian’s
National Portrait GalleryThe National Portrait Gallery is an art gallery in Washington, D.C., administered by the Smithsonian Institution. Its collections focus on images of famous individual Americans.-Building:...
in Washington, D.C., unveiled a historic portrait of Special Olympics founder
Eunice Kennedy ShriverEunice Kennedy Shriver DSG founded the precursor to the Special Olympics in 1962. In 1968, she helped Ann McGlone Burke popularize the Special Olympics movement across the U.S....
, the first portrait the Gallery has ever commissioned of an individual who had not served as a U.S. President or First Lady. The portrait of Mrs. Shriver depicts her with four Special Olympics athletes, including Loretta Claiborne, and one Best Buddies participant and was painted by
David LenzDavid Lenz is an American portrait painter.Since 1990 Lenz has painted intimate and highly realistic portraits of unsung Americans. Lenz is perhaps best known for winning the grand prize in the 2006 Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition...
, the winner of the Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition in 2006. As part of the Portrait Competition prize, the National Portrait Gallery commissions a work from the winning artist to depict a living subject for the collection. Lenz, whose son, Sam, has
Down syndromeDown syndrome , Down's syndrome , trisomy 21, or trisomy G is a chromosomal disorder caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British doctor who described the syndrome in 1866...
and is an enthusiastic Special Olympics athlete, was inspired by Mrs. Shriver’s dedication to working with people with intellectual disabilities.
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