World Champion snowboarder Hannah Teter is an Olympic gold medalist and passionate humanitarian.
In 2014 Teter became the first Action Sports Global Ambassador for Special Olympics.
Born into a family of snowboarders, the Belmont, Vermont native excelled at a young age and became the youngest member of the U.S. Snowboarding Team in 2003. She won her first X Games medal at the age of 16 and has captured an additional five throughout her career. During her Olympic debut in 2006 Hannah championed the halfpipe competition and won the gold medal. She went on to compete in the 2010 Olympics where she landed the silver medal in the halfpipe competition and was a contender at the 2014 Games where she placed fourth.
Hannah has been recognized for her snowboarding success and philanthropic efforts with accolades such as the ESPY for Best Female Action Sports Athlete, VH1 Do Something Award for Athlete of the Year, and modeled for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit in a section devoted to Winter Olympians.
Engagement:
Hannah started her Special Olympics journey in 2012, where she attended Special Olympics Vermont State Games.
In January 2013, Hannah joined the Special Olympics World Winter Games in PyeongChang, Korea, where she participated in a Unified Sports Experience in snowboarding, spoke at the Global Development Summit on Sports in developing countries, and engaged with youth leaders and Unified youth pairs (young people with and without intellectual disabilities) at the Global Youth Activation Summit Youth Rally. In the summer of 2013, Hannah attended the Southern California Summer Games at Cal-State Long Beach where she participated in Opening Ceremonies, watched competition and participated in Unified Sports Experience in bocce with athletes from Southern California. During Hannah’s announcement in January 2014, she participated in a Unified Sports Dual Slalom Snowboarding Race with 11 Special Olympics Colorado athletes, brothers Abe and Amen Teter and special guests Arielle Gold, Jamie Anderson, Scotty James, Mitchie Brusco and Johnny Bananas on Silver Dip Mountain in Aspen.
In 2015, Hannah combined her passion for snowboarding and the Special Olympics to help bring Unified Snowboarding to the X Games, resulting in Special Olympics athletes and professional snowboarders competing together during the X games in a Unified event, the first ever-televised Unified event of its kind. In 2019, X Games expanded Unified sports competition by adding Unified skiing.
Hannah continuously leads the Special Olympics efforts to broaden Special Olympics athlete participation in action sports, as well as link her passion and humanitarian efforts in the developing world.
Global Ambassadors
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Alia Atkinson
Olympic Swimmer, Commander of the Order of Distinction -
Andre Drummond
NBA All-Star & Rebound Champion, Chicago Bulls -
Apolo Anton Ohno
Olympic Medalist (Speedskating) -
Avril Lavigne
Musician & Philanthropist -
Robert "Bob" Beamon
Olympic Champion, Long Jump -
Brooklyn Decker Roddick
Actress & Model -
Charles Melton
Actor -
Chris Nikic
Special Olympics Triathlete/Motivational Speaker -
Dale Moss
Former National Football League Player -
Dalton Risner
NFL Player, Minnesota Vikings, Offensive Guard -
Damian Lillard
NBA All Star, Milwaukee Bucks -
Devin Booker
NBA All-Star, Phoenix Suns -
Didier Drogba
Legendary Professional Football (Soccer) Player -
Drew McIntyre
WWE Superstar, (World Wrestling Entertainment) WWE -
Eddie Barbanell
Actor & Comedian -
Eddie Yarbrough
Former NFL Player -
Elena Delle Donne
WNBA Player, Washington Mystics -
Emma Broyles
Miss America 2022 -
Erika Ender
Singer/Songwriter, TV Celebrity, Producer and Actress -
Gabriela (Gaby) Dabrowski
Professional Tennis Player, Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) -
Gleyber Torres
2x MLB All-Star, New York Yankees Shortstop -
Hannah Teter
Olympic Champion, Snowboarder -
Hidetoshi Nakata
Former Professional Footballer, ACCA Inc -
Hussein Fahmy
Egyptian Actor -
Ibtihaj Muhammad
Olympic Champion, Fencing -
In-Kyung Kim
Professional Golfer -
Jamaal Charles
Former Football Player at National Football League (NFL) & All Pro Runningback -
Joe Haden
Former NFL Player & All Pro Defensive Back -
John C. McGinley
Actor & Advocate -
Julen Lopetegui
Legendary Soccer Goaltender & current Manager of FC Sevilla -
Katherine Schwarzenegger and Chris Pratt
New York Times Bestselling Author | Actor, Producer -
Lauren Potter
Actor & Advocate -
Li Na
Former Professional Tennis Player, two time grand slam champion, The first Chinese member of the ITHF -
Lily D Moore
Actress and Model -
Mack Hollins
NFL Player, Atlanta Falcons Wide Receiver -
Maureen McCormick
Actress, Designer, Singer, NY Times Bestselling Author -
Michael Phelps
Olympic Champion, Swimming -
Michelle Kwan
Olympic Figure Skater -
Montell Jordan
International Recording Artist/Pastor -
Nadia Comaneci
Olympic Champion, Gymnastics, Perfect 10 Production, Inc., Special Olympics Global Ambassador -
Nicole Scherzinger
International Recording Artist & Television Personality -
Nigel Barker
Fashion Photographer, TV Personality, Producer/Filmmaker -
Padraig Harrington
Professional Golfer -
Paul Wight
Six-Time WWE World Champion -
Ricky Rubio
Former NBA Player, Cleveland Cavaliers -
Sam Perkins
Olympic Champion, Basketball & NBA Legend -
Dr. Seun Adigun
Summer & Winter Olympian Hurdles and Bobsledding -
Tristan Thompson
NBA Champion, Cleveland Cavaliers -
Vanessa Williams
Singer & Broadway Performer -
Victoria Arlen
ESPN SportsCenter Host -
Vladimir 'Vanja' Grbic
Olympic Medalist, Volleyball -
Willson Contreras
2x MLB All-Star, St. Louis Cardinals Catcher -
Yang Lan
Founding Chairperson, Sun Culture Media Group and Sun Culture Foundation; Journalist; Philanthropist -
Yang Yang
Olympic Champion, Speed Skating -
Yao Ming
NBA All Star & Chairman of the International Basketball Federation Asia (FIBA) -
Zhou Xun
Actress, Singer & Philanthropic Environmentalist -
Zou Shiming
Olympic Champion, Boxing -
View All
As icons of success from diverse industries such as sports, music, entertainment, media, and beyond, Special Olympics Global Ambassadors generously lend their time, talent, and resources to support the Special Olympics mission. They are inspirational role models who share a belief in the power to come together, break down barriers, and foster a world of inclusion while supporting Special Olympics’ expansion of sports, health, youth, and education programs.