Marietta teen prepares for Special Olympics World Games

Of the 7,000 athletes from 177 countries that will be competing in the 2015 Special Olympics World Games in Los Angeles, 344 of them are from the USA, and six of those are from Georgia. 

The opening ceremonies from the Los Angeles Coliseum will be televised live on ESPN on July 25 at 8:00 EDT, and will feature First Lady Michelle Obama, Michael Phelps, Avril Lavigne, Stevie Wonder, and other celebrities.  The games will run from July 25 through August 2.

The Georgia delegation includes Will Crain of Gainesville who will compete in kayaking, Michael Crofton of Fayetteville who will compete in sailing, Brooke Hasfjord of Cumming who will compete in aquatics, Jennifer Maddox of Stockbridge who will compete in equestrian, and Julie Doss of Valdosta and Shannon Laffey of Marietta who will both compete in gymnastics.

Click the link for a look at Shannon Laffey as she prepares to not only represent her country, but also to "be first place".  Good luck in LA!

For more information on the Special Olympics of Georgia, you can go to their website http://www.specialolympicsga.org/.  And for more information on the 2015 Special Olympics World Games, go to http://www.la2015.org/.