The Parade of Athletes begins during the opening ceremony of the Meijer State Games of Michigan on Friday at Marquette Mountain Resort. Athletes of all abilities were to take part in winter sports across various venues in Marquette County. (Journal photo by Christie Mastric)
MARQUETTE — With a parade of athletes and traditional Olympics music in the background, the Meijer State Games of Michigan began on Friday at Marquette Mountain Resort.
Athletes walked through an inflatable Northern Michigan University Wildcat head to start the ceremony, which included a speech by John Kusku, a two-time U.S. Paralympian who won a silver medal in the Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016.
Kusku, who was born with a hereditary degenerative retinal disease, specializes in goalball, a team sport designed for athletes with a vision impairment.
His Rio experience including competing in front of…
