MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. — Team Missouri turned in its biggest medal day yet Wednesday at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, highlighted by a four-gold sweep in powerlifting, a gold-medal finish in tennis doubles, a clean sweep of the medal stand in Unified pickleball — every Missouri pickleball team brought home a medal — and an undefeated volleyball team now headed to Thursday’s gold-medal game, on Day 3 of the national event, held June 20–26 at the University of Minnesota and the National Sports Center in Blaine.
Missouri’s delegation includes 78 athletes and Unified Partners competing in 12 sports: Athletics, Basketball, Bocce, Bowling, Flag Football, Golf, Pickleball, Powerlifting, Softball, Swimming, Tennis, and Volleyball.
Local and Regional Highlights
- Springfield: Lauren Cook made her USA Games debut a historic one Wednesday, sweeping gold in all four of her powerlifting events — squat, deadlift, bench press, and combination — in the F-06 classification, while setting personal-meet records in three of them. Fellow Springfield athlete Jennie Crabbe won bronze in Bocce Singles the same day.
- Kansas City Metro area: Tennis athlete Robert “Bobby” Williams of Lee’s Summit, paired with Owen Lambert of Springfield, won gold in Level 5 Doubles Wednesday after taking both of their matches; tennis awards will be presented Friday. Bocce athlete Eric Schmitt of Independence and unified partner Ivory Traylor return to competition Thursday after winning silver in unified doubles Tuesday. Fellow bocce athletes Kelsey Porter and Anthony Mitchell both had strong showings Wednesday — Porter won bronze in Bocce Singles, and Mitchell returns to competition Thursday.
- Louis Metro area: Swimmer Sam Karagiannis placed 4th in the 50-yard freestyle Wednesday. Flag football athlete Jude Coons hauled in another key catch in Missouri’s win over Pennsylvania, which secured the team’s spot in Thursday’s championship round. Track and field athlete Kenzie Hagen of Ballwin won bronze in the Athletics Mini-Javelin, and fellow St. Louis-area athlete Terrence Winfield placed 4th in the Running Long Jump, setting a personal record in the event.
- Lake Ozark: Bowler Brandon Hayes won gold in Bowling Singles, then posted 10 consecutive strikes during Wednesday’s Unified doubles competition, setting personal records along the way.
- Southeast Missouri (Cape Girardeau/Jackson area): Bowler Kayla Dannenmueller won silver in Bowling Singles. Missouri’s volleyball team — which includes Southeast Missouri athletes Bayley James, Tim Kunz, and Rebecca Shackleford — remained undefeated Wednesday, sweeping both matches against New York by scores of 25–12 and 24–17 and advancing to Thursday’s gold-medal game.
- Pickleball (unofficial results): Every Missouri Unified pickleball team brought home a medal Wednesday. St. Louis Metro area athlete Florica Gault and unified partner Jennie Petterson, of Fulton, won gold in Unified Male/Mixed Doubles. Columbia’s Scott LaRue and partner Aiden Petterson, of Fulton, earned silver in the same event, while John Eckart, of the Kansas City Metro area, and partner Ken Petterson, of Fulton, added bronze. Columbia’s Anna McDaniel and partner Hillary James, of Boonville, won bronze in Unified Female Doubles. The team will officially receive its medals at Thursday’s awards ceremony.
Across All Sports
Flag football’s win over Pennsylvania advances the team to Thursday’s championship round; the team celebrated afterward with a trip to the Mall of America.
Softball defeated California in a competitive matchup and returns to the field Thursday at 9 a.m.
Basketball showed strong rhythm and teamwork in a matchup against Vermont and faces Idaho Thursday at 9 a.m.
Golf continued through divisioning rounds Wednesday.
About the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games
The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games are taking place June 20–26 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, bringing together roughly 3,000 athletes and 1,500 coaches representing all 50 states, competing in 16 team and individual sports. The event is supported by more than 10,000 volunteers and an anticipated 75,000 fans. Team Missouri — known as “MO Magic” — earned its spot through a multi-step qualification process: athletes won a gold medal in their sport the year prior, attended a selection camp, and were ultimately selected to represent Missouri at the national Games.