Loretta Claiborne
Encyclopedia
Loretta Claiborne is an American global speaker who competes in the Special Olympics
. She has been honored with the 1996 Arthur Ashe
ESPY
Courage Award
presented to her by Denzel Washington
. Claiborne was the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Claiborne was born partially blind
and was unable to talk or walk until the age of four. She has completed over 25 marathon
s and has placed in the top 100 women finishers of the Boston Marathon
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.
She is also a karate black belt, has been 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 is 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 Gallery
in Washington, D.C., unveiled a historic portrait of Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy Shriver
, 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 Lenz
, 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 syndrome
and is an enthusiastic Special Olympics athlete, was inspired by Mrs. Shriver’s dedication to working with people with intellectual disabilities.
Special Olympics
Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
. She has been honored with the 1996 Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe
Arthur 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 United States...
ESPY
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 Award
Arthur Ashe Courage Award
The 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:-External links:***...
presented to her by Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. is an American actor, screenwriter, director, and film producer. He first rose to prominence when he joined the cast of the medical drama, St. Elsewhere, playing Dr...
. Claiborne was the first Special Olympics athlete elected to the Special Olympics International Board of Directors.
Claiborne was born partially blind
Blindness
Blindness 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 marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
s and has placed in the top 100 women finishers of the Boston Marathon
Boston Marathon
The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon hosted by the U.S. 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...
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 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 is 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 Gallery
National Portrait Gallery (United States)
The 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 Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver
Eunice Kennedy Shriver, DSG a member of the Kennedy family, sister to President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, was the founder in 1962 of Camp Shriver, and in 1968, the Special Olympics...
, 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 Lenz
David Lenz
David 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 syndrome
Down syndrome
Down syndrome, or Down's syndrome, trisomy 21, is a chromosomal condition caused by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome. It is named after John Langdon Down, the British physician who described the syndrome in 1866. The condition was clinically described earlier in the 19th...
and is an enthusiastic Special Olympics athlete, was inspired by Mrs. Shriver’s dedication to working with people with intellectual disabilities.