The Special Olympics torch stopped in Logan County Tuesday morning on its way to the Opening Ceremony of the 2024 Ohio Special Olympic Games in Columbus this weekend. The opening ceremony will be held in Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Friday, June 28th at 7:00 PM. This is the first year the ceremony will be held in The Shoe.
The ceremony will include the Parade of Athletes, guest speakers, and the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run, which will bring the Flame of Hope to ignite the cauldron and officially begin the games.
Kennon Coleman, a sergeant with the Warren County Sheriff’s Office, is this year’s Ohio’s Southwest Director of the Law Enforcement Torch Run. He said the Law Enforcement Torch Run helps raise funds for Special Olympic athletes from all over the State of Ohio. To date, over $88,000 of the goal of $100,000 has been raised. Coleman said he expects the goal to be reached by the middle of this week.
Coleman discusses the route for the Law Enforcement Torch Run:
Rose Cantor, the Logan County Special Olympics Coordinator, said she is proud to continue the Law Enforcement Torch Run tradition. She noted that several counties and municipalities participate in the torch run, with law enforcement officers from the various law enforcement agencies running with the athletes as the torch passes through their area.
Cantor said that this year, Bellefontaine received a special honor as Jacob Hawk was selected to participate in the final leg of the Law Enforcement Torch Run inside Ohio Stadium.
Cantor talks about the honor bestowed on Hawk:
For more information about Special Olympics Ohio, click here.
For information about the Ohio Law Enforcement Torch Run, click here.
