Hundreds take the plunge for Special Olympics Kentucky

Hundreds of people took advantage of Saturday's nice weather to participate in the annual Polar Plunge and Polar 5k race at Kentucky Dam Village.

Laura Miller with Special Olympics Kentucky told West Kentucky Star that 312 people participated in this year's plunge. She believes the nice weather contributed to the high number of entrants, with a high percentage of participants registering in the week leading up to the event.

"I think it definitely had something to do with that. We had a lot of people register the week of the event. A higher percentage than we have in years past," she said.

Miller said they raised over $85,000 this year, up $18,000 over last year and she expects that number to continue climbing over the next couple of weeks.

She said, "Generally the number will continue to grow over the next couple of weeks with more donations, for anyone whose plans got changed and they couldn't actually come. They'll be mailing in and turning in money."

Additionally, she said funds raised during this year's event launched them over the $1 million mark for the event's history.

This year's top participant in the teams category was the Murray Rockets with $21,645 raised. For individual participants, Chuck Williams led the pack with $12,894 raised.

Miller said they're always looking for new athletes to participate in Kentucky's special olympics. She said what many people may not realize, is that many of the organizations events are unified, meaning individuals without disabilities can also train and compete.

"We would love to have people join us whether it be competition or by volunteering as well," Miller said.

Anyone that would like to participate or volunteer is asked to contact Miller by email at lmiller@soky.org.

Since 1997 over 21,000 plungers have raised nearly $9 million to support Special Olympics through the Polar Plunge.

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Photo courtesy of Marshall County Daily.