Washington, DC - On Friday, Second Lady Karen Pence led a Presidential Delegation to the 2017 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Graz, Schladming, and Ramsau, Austria.  Mrs. Pence and the Presidential Delegation will join approximately 3,000 Special Olympics athletes from 110 nations and their family members, along with thousands of coaches, volunteers, and sports fans. The athletes will ski, skate, snowboard, snowshoe, and engage in other winter sports with the goal of taking home a medal. In 1993, Austria hosted the first Special Olympics World Winter Games ever held outside the United States.

The Presidential Delegation will participate in several events, including the Snowboarding Division Competition and Special Olympics Opening Ceremony on Saturday, March 18. The Presidential Delegation will return to the United States on Sunday, March 19.

The Presidential Delegation will include:

• Mr. Eugene Young, United States Charge d’Affaires a.i. to Austria
• The Honorable Charles Glazer, Special Advisor to Transition, U.S. Department of State
• The Honorable Katherine Henderson, Special Assistant to the President for Presidential Personnel
• Mrs. Crissy Haslam, First Lady of Tennessee
• Ms. Loretta Claiborne, Former Special Olympics Athlete