The 13-year-old, who has Down's syndrome, is competing against over 100 gymnasts at the Special Olympics World Games in Berlin. It's great," Annabelle's father, Markus Tschech-Loeffler, told Reuters. Thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities compete together in 26 sports over nine days at the Games. "Our core goal is to put the living situation of people with intellectual disabilities at the centre of society," Hauthal said. For Annabelle's father, making sure his daughter can focus on her routine and not get distracted by other competitors with thousands of people watching is the biggest challenge.

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Persons: Annabelle, Mary, Markus, Jonathan, Read, Annabelle Tschech, Markus Tschech, Tom Hauthal, Hauthal, Olympiastadion, Nadine Baethke, Riham Alkousaa, Alison Williams Organizations: Federal, Special, Reuters, Games, Thomson Locations: BERLIN, Berlin, Germany, Nazi Germany