{"id":297983,"date":"2026-06-06T02:10:12","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:10:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/297983\/"},"modified":"2026-06-06T02:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-06-06T02:10:12","slug":"ridaught-alachua-countys-brown-to-represent-team-florida-at-special-olympics-usa-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/297983\/","title":{"rendered":"Ridaught: Alachua County\u2019s Brown to represent Team Florida at Special Olympics USA Games"},"content":{"rendered":"

From June 20-26, nearly 170 Special Olympics Florida athletes and Unified partners from across the state will head to Minneapolis, Minnesota, for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to their mission statement<\/a>, Special Olympics Florida provides year-round sports training and competition in a variety of Olympic-type sports for people with intellectual disabilities who wish to participate, giving them continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in the sharing of gifts, skills, and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes, and the community.<\/p>\n

The ultimate objective of Special Olympics Florida is to help people with intellectual disabilities participate as productive and respected members of society at large, by offering them a fair opportunity to develop and demonstrate their skills and talents through sports training and competition, and by increasing the public\u2019s awareness of their capabilities and needs.<\/p>\n

Become A Member<\/p>\n

Mainstreet does not have a paywall, but pavement-pounding journalism is not free. Join your neighbors who make this vital work possible.<\/p>\n

See Member Benefits<\/a>Join Our Newsletter<\/a><\/p>\n

This month\u2019s event will bring together thousands of athletes from all over the nation to showcase their talent, teamwork, and the power of sports to change lives.<\/p>\n

One of those athletes is from Alachua County.<\/p>\n

Kiondre Brown is a multi-sport athlete who will represent Team Florida in basketball at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in Minnesota.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very awesome to have the opportunity to compete at the USA Games,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019m glad we are going because I always say never say never to any opportunities. I am excited to have the chance to represent Florida for a second time at the USA Games.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2023, Brown\u2019s Unified basketball team won a national championship, and he was named tournament MVP after averaging 27 points per game.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a great, exciting experience,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI just liked getting the opportunity to be there with my friends. It was great to win, but ultimately you just have to be happy and enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

He scored 133 points in five games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know how I did that, but I went crazy,\u201d he said. \u201cBut my friend, Ivory, made the game-winning three. Shoutout to her, I was so happy for her.\u201d<\/p>\n

There are many ways to describe Brown\u2019s hoops game. He does it all.<\/p>\n

\"KiondreCourtesy of Special Olympics Florida Kiondre Brown will represent Team Florida in the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games in June.<\/p>\n

\u201cI take advantage of what the defense gives me,\u201d he said. \u201cIf I don\u2019t make a shot, I help my team on defense and rebounding. I\u2019ll take it to the hole if I need to. I\u2019ll shoot if I need to. The most important thing is I do my thing and have fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown has been having fun with Special Olympics Florida for a decade, which has given him plenty of opportunities to travel and compete.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve travelled to Ohio State University in 2018 for basketball, San Antonio (Texas) for the World Games Training camp in 2022, then to Austin (Texas) for flag football in 2023, and Maryland for basketball in 2023, where we won the national championship. Then we went to Berlin for the World Games in June 2023, and then we went to Oklahoma for flag football in 2024. I\u2019m excited for my teammates to go. I thank God and I\u2019m very happy to go to Minnesota.\u201d<\/p>\n

He\u2019s a big-game performer who led his flag football team to a bronze medal at the 2022 Special Olympics USA Games.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got involved (Special Olympics Florida) through my school, the Sidney Lanier Center in Gainesville, in 2016,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI had coaches like Abijah Bertrand and Taylor Byle who got me involved and have had a lot of people who have kept me involved. Special Olympics Florida is a great experience. Special Olympics is my life. When I\u2019m around Special Olympics athletes and partners, they show me love and show me who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n

He said his most fun personal experience was playing flag football at the 2022 USA Games when his team poured water on him after they won the bronze medal.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt showed me who I am and what I can do,\u201d Brown said. \u201cIt showed me that Special Olympics Florida is fun. It\u2019s not about the challenges I\u2019ve faced; it\u2019s about competing and being happy. Getting the bronze medal brought me tears. The USA Games were the coolest experience to be there and be a part of it with my teammates. My best friend Randy couldn\u2019t play, so he coached and I\u2019m glad he got to be there with me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Although he likes both sports, Brown said he doesn\u2019t have a favorite.<\/p>\n

\u201cI get to play both sports with my friends, and I\u2019m so glad to have everyone in my life and on my team,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Being a part of Special Olympics Florida does have its own set of challenges. He often held two jobs, working at Subway and doing yard work, while creating his own music and finding time to practice.<\/p>\n

\u201cI balance the time because I can\u2019t stop,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI love Special Olympics Florida and I love my jobs. I work hard to support my family and take care of my nieces and nephews. I love Special Olympics Florida, playing video games, and making music, so that\u2019s what I do for fun.\u201d<\/p>\n

Brown said he likes to listen to R&B & Hip Hop.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s what music I like to make,\u201d he said. \u201cI rap and sing. I write my music and put my heart into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

But for now, his focus is on Minnesota, a place he has never been.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m excited to enjoy the experience with my teammates, meeting new people from across the country, and I\u2019m excited to play basketball,\u201d Brown said. \u201cI\u2019m most excited for my teammates to have the opportunity because they\u2019re my family.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From June 20-26, nearly 170 Special Olympics Florida athletes and Unified partners from across the state will head…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":297984,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[28,30,29],"class_list":["post-297983","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-florida","tag-florida","tag-florida-headlines","tag-florida-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297983","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=297983"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/297983\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/297984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=297983"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=297983"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=297983"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}