There was no shortage of fun happening at the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games for Team Tennessee. While practicing hard in competition, this event served as a testament to hard work, effort, and endless determination.
For Team Tennessee’s Unified Basketball Team, athlete, Jaden Cole, and Unified partner, Nathan Clayton, had a blast in the Twin Cities. With multiple wins and a gold medal under their belts, the pair played with excelled while representing Tennessee on one of the biggest stages in Special Olympics.
In catching Cole on a quick break between training and game time, he mentioned that his favorite part of the USA Games had been “going on walks, a dance party, and basketball.” These athletes experiences everything the Games had to offer, and after all they had put into getting there, they couldn’t be more deserving.
Cole has been playing basketball for six years. Advancing to the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games is a huge accomplishment that has come with countless hours on the court. He and his Unified Partner, Clayton, have been paired for the last two years, where they’ve been given the chance to share the mission of Special Olympics together: “continuing opportunities to develop physical fitness, demonstrate courage, experience joy and participate in a sharing of gifts, skills and friendship with their families, other Special Olympics athletes and the community.”
As for Clayton, who getting ready to start his freshman year at the University of Minnesota, he explained that what Special Olympics has taught him will certainly be taken into his next chapter. For the organization itself and its personal meaning to him, Clayton notes,
I think it’s very empowering and given me a lot of people I can look up to.
Cole said that Clayton encouraged him, just as he did the same. If given one phrase for his relationship with his partner, he simply said, “Thank you.”
Clayton’s friendship with Cole is so much more than a jersey number or roster. He says that Cole is “someone who is fun to talk to and somebody who can be there for me.” No matter where this next season takes him, he believes the guiding principles of Special Olympics are “very valuable. That if you just believe in yourself, you can do whatever you put your mind to.”
Cole and Clayton showcased their basketball skills to help their team win gold and made Tennessee proud throughout the Games. In words to his teammate Cole, Clayton shared, “Don’t stop being yourself. You’re going to go a long way in life.”
These two athletes and their friendship not only scored big on the court, but also reminded us all what it means to play through life together.
To learn more about Cole, Clayton, and the rest of 2026 Team Tennessee Basketball, click here.