Mario Nunez of New York, New York, has participated in Special Olympics for five years, competing in basketball, floor hockey and soccer. He will represent Special Olympics USA in soccer. Passionate about the sport of soccer, Mario is a member of the New York City Football Club Unified soccer team, which has helped to give him more confidence in competing. In 2022, Mario competed with his teammates of the City Hawks Unified Training Club in the Special Olympics USA Games, where they won gold. One of his proudest moments was scoring two goals in a Special Olympics Unified Sports® Soccer Exchange program match with MLS Works, Major League Soccer’s Social Responsibility platform.
Mario is a student at Harvest Collegiate High School and 721M, where he practices with his teammates in preparation for the Special Olympics World Games Berlin 2023. One day, Mario hopes to follow in the footsteps of their coach Joe Stewart in coaching his own team.