Amid a heavy snowstorm, during Closing Ceremony of the Special Olympics World Games Torino 2025, Chile received the Special Olympics flag as the next host country of the 2027 mega-sporting event.
The Special Olympics Chile team competed in snowboarding, alpine skiing, and snowshoeing, winning 18 medals: 9 gold, 4 silver, and 5 bronze. The Chilean delegation was the highest-ranked country in Latin America in the medal table.
Snowboarder Teresita Lira received the flag. In her speech she said, “It is an honor and a privilege to be here today representing Latin American women. I firmly believe in the transformative power of sport for inclusion. I look forward to seeing you in Santiago, Chile, in 2027.”
At the ceremony, Carolina Picasso, president of Special Olympics Chile, Emilia Ríos, Undersecretary of Sports, and Chilean Ambassador to Italy, Ennio Vivaldi, also had the honor of receiving and bringing the Special Olympics emblem to Chile. “It was 10 days in this incredible setting, and it was a great celebration of the best of the human spirit. Thank you for trusting Chile to host the next World Games. We are very proud to be the first country in the southern hemisphere to welcome the great Special Olympics family,” said Picasso.
“It’s a tremendous honor to see our delegation putting Chile’s name at the top. It’s very important for us as a country because it’s the prelude to the World Games in Santiago, and we’re working hard toward that goal,” said Emilia Ríos, Undersecretary of Sports, who accompanied the delegation to Italy.
The national delegation returns to Santiago this Monday and is expected to receive recognition from the Chilean government at the National Stadium on Tuesday.
Final Medal Table:
- Gonzalo Escobar, snowboarder: 2 gold medals and 1 silver medal
- Teresita Lira, snowboarder: 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal
- Claudia Gagliardi, snowboarder: 1 gold medal and 1 silver medal
- Olivia Gómez, skier: 2 gold medals and 1 bronze medal
- Juan Guentitrupai, snowboarder: 2 silver medals and 1 bronze medal
- José Espinosa, snowshoeer: 2 bronze medals
- Nicolás Moreno, snowshoeer: 1 bronze medal.
- Elizabeth Contreras, snowshoeer: 1 gold medal. Snowshoe team (4x100 relay): 1 gold medal.
