Born with a rare condition called amniotic band syndrome, Jessica Heims started life with a much shorter right leg and a non-functional right foot. For the first year of her life, her doctors and parents tried to decide the best course of action for her: treat the foot or amputate? At about one year old, Jessica’s parents made the difficult decision to have their daughter’s foot amputated; however, this decision has helped Jessica to thrive. Her story is that of an Iowa-native success.

If you have been to the Iowa Games or the Iowa Senior Games the last several years, chances are you have seen or met Ron Peterson [Waukee, IA]. Ron competes in basketball shooting and track and field (shotput, discus, 100-meter dash) in the Iowa Games. In the Senior Games, he competes in up to 25 sports.

Hadley Long [Indiana, PA] started swimming at eight years old when here dad decided to sign her up for swimming lessons, and now at sixteen, she hasn’t looked back. When she started the lessons, it was clear that Hadley was improving rapidly. Her swim instructor noticed how talented she was and asked Hadley if she wanted to be on a swim team. From there, Hadley began to swim competitively and quickly moved up competition levels.

Sports often bring about perseverance and determination people did not know they had. That is especially evident in the story of Carol Marker. Even though Carol has autism, she has not let that stop her both in sports and life.

Competition is often viewed as linear, A-to-B, wins and losses, etc. The process is overlooked for “what have you done lately?” Do sports still have a space to grow and tell your story? Ann Hegstrom, De Sota, Iowa, certainly believes so. As the 2022 State Games of America presented by Grinnell Mutual draws near, Ann was kind enough to talk about her time competing in different events and share why she competes.

Ann competed in track and field in high school but chose not to pursue anything in college. Over the years, Ann ran in marathons and half marathons but did not compete on the oval. One day, while in a local Casey’s General Store, Ann noticed a flier for the Iowa Games and decided to check it out.

The Iowa Games, in collaboration with, Iowa State University, Ames Convention and Visitors Bureau and Catch Des Moines announced that the 2021 State Games of America will be moved to 2022. The rescheduling of the event comes in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused many state games to cancel or modify their games this summer.

The 2022 State Games of America will be held July 27-31. As a result of this rescheduling, 2021 Summer Iowa Games events will be July 28-August 1. Some events will remain on their traditionally scheduled weekends.

LYNCHBURG, Va. – One of central Virginia's largest sporting events of the year has concluded.

Thousands of people came to Lynchburg for the State Games of America, a nationwide amateur sports competition. The five-day tournament was hosted at Liberty University for the past five days and attracted athletes from all across America.