The 2023 Kansas Special Olympics Torch Run is going through Downtown Ottawa, as we speak. The Run was set back an hour in hopes of avoiding some of the heavy rain in the area. The Torch Run happens every year across the State of Kansas with nearly 2,000 police officers participating and hundreds of special athletes. The torch will leave Ottawa this morning and travel to Beto Junction by bicycle, where officers from Lyon County and Emporia will meet the Ottawa entourage and proceed to travel to Emporia.
The final leg of the Torch Run will take place in Wichita, Thursday morning, June 1, from City Hall to the Opening Ceremony of the Summer games at Maize South High School. The most inspirational athlete of the preceding year carries the torch into the stadium escorted by the officers and together they light the Cauldron to open the State Summer Games. Officers award medals throughout the three days of competition.
