Missing Special Olympics athlete turns up 350 miles away in Hayward

A language barrier and Gusmari’s speech disability kept him from communicating what happened, Pola said.

Kato said the boy was returned to his hotel, where some members of his delegation stayed behind to wait for him.

The Albanian athlete was last seen on the USC campus on Saturday night.

“Japan forced our runner to step over his lane on the final leg of the race”, said Special Olympics New Zealand spokeswoman Angela Day, who said the team were “robbed” of silver.

Special Olympics chairman Timothy Shriver, son of Eunice, said he hoped the coverage of the games would improve equality for those with learning difficulties.

Delegations are required to come with a ratio of one coach to four athletes, and the coaches are responsible for managing their participants, said Jeff Carr, chief operating officer of the Special Olympics World Games Organizing Committee.

Gusmari “appeared unharmed, healthy and in good spirits”, Pola said in a statement.

Following their spectacular performance at the Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, the Pakistan’s special athletes contingent – which secured 33 medals – landed in Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore, in three different flights, in wee hours of Wednesday. A portion of his delegation had already left, but others were still in Los Angeles.

“Since all athletes who took part in the Games were participating for the first time, I did not set any specific target but winning six gold medals is beyond our expectation”.

Found: Albanian Andi Gusmari went missing in LA after going to use the restroom and becoming separated from his group. “I think they understand exactly what the situation is”.

August 2, is the biggest event hosted in Los Angeles since the 1984 Olympic Games.

Jayasingh, who is also the Special Olympics Malaysia president, added that he hoped their achievement would encourage more parents to enroll their intellectually challenged children in Special Olympics sports programmes.