Jess Sims Special Olympics Role Is a Proud ESPN First

Jess Sims Special Olympics Coverage Marks a Proud New Chapter

Jess Sims Special Olympics coverage is officially underway, and the Peloton tread and strength instructor says it has already been one of the most meaningful assignments of her career. Sims is in Minneapolis this week as part of ESPN’s broadcast team for the 2026 Special Olympics USA Games, adding another national sports assignment to a media career that keeps expanding well beyond the Peloton platform.

The 2026 Special Olympics USA Games run June 20 through 26 across Minnesota’s Twin Cities, with competitions held at the University of Minnesota and the National Sports Center in Blaine. Nearly 3,000 athletes from all 50 states, supported by roughly 1,500 coaches, are competing across 16 Olympic-type team and individual sports. ESPN is streaming 48 hours of live competition across the week on ESPN+ and the ESPN App.

Jess Sims Joins a Stacked ESPN Broadcast Team

For the Jess Sims Special Olympics assignment, she is working alongside SportsCenter anchor Kevin Connors, features reporter Jen Lada, Special Olympics Nebraska Hall of Famer Wyatt Spalding, and former Paralympian Victoria Arlen on Opening Ceremony coverage. Each streamed venue also features a former Olympic athlete on commentary, including Dan O’Brien for Athletics, Cheryl Haworth for Powerlifting, and Rowdy Gaines for Swimming.

Sims is part of the play-by-play and field reporting team throughout the week, a group that also includes Arlen, Drew Fellios, Jason Ross Jr., Kelsey Riggs Cuff, Patrick Kinas, and Eric Rothman. She has been candid about her own assignment within that lineup, sharing on Instagram that she is covering track and field, known at the Games as Athletics, for the full week and calling it an honor.

DJ from Connecticut Becomes a Highlight of the Week

During the Jess Sims Special Olympics reporting, one athlete in particular stood out to Sims early in the week. In an Instagram post following the Opening Ceremony, she wrote that the joy at the ceremony was real, and that an athlete named DJ from Connecticut’s delegation made her whole night with energy she called palpable. DJ is one of nearly 3,000 athletes competing in the USA Games.

Sims told followers that competition was set to begin the next day and would run through Friday, encouraging fans to tune in and cheer on athletes like DJ, who was scheduled to compete in the 400m, the 1500m, and the 4x100m relay. She also asked her followers directly: if they knew any athletes competing in Minneapolis, she wanted to try to find them on site.

A Personal Connection to the Twin Cities Setting

Sims’ broadcast assignment also carries a hometown thread. U.S. Bank, headquartered in Minneapolis, serves as both the Official Volunteer Sponsor and the Official Competitive Cheer Sponsor of the Games, helping mobilize more than 10,000 volunteers and supporting the Competitive Cheer competition at Ridder Arena on the University of Minnesota campus.

In a separate Instagram Story posted during the broadcast, Sims called out that connection directly, noting that having a hometown sponsor of this scale based in the very city hosting the Games felt like genuine alignment. She described her first day covering Athletics as a deeply moving experience, one she called beyond special.

Why the Jess Sims Special Olympics Assignment Fits Her ESPN Trajectory

The Jess Sims Special Olympics role is the latest step in a broadcasting career that has grown steadily alongside her work as a Peloton instructor. She joined Peloton in 2018 after leaving a career in education, and has since become a recurring presence on ESPN’s College GameDay coverage for both football and basketball. Earlier this year, she served as sideline reporter for the 2026 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament, working the First and Second Rounds through the Final Four and national championship alongside broadcaster Beth Mowins and analyst Debbie Antonelli.

That run of high-profile assignments has positioned her as one of ESPN’s go-to reporters for marquee live events, and the Jess Sims Special Olympics assignment  adds a different kind of significance to that list. ESPN’s Special Olympics coverage reflects a partnership that has lasted more than four decades, and the network has served as the Global Presenting Sponsor of Special Olympics Unified Sports since 2013, a partnership that has helped grow Unified Sports participation by 111 percent globally to more than 1.8 million participants.

What Comes Next for Jess Sims and ESPN

ESPN’s Special Olympics coverage continues through June 26, with additional programming including the NFL Network’s Flag Football Unified Game and dedicated preview and review programs airing on ABC. For Sims, the week in Minneapolis adds to a 2026 schedule that has already included March Madness and her Teacher Appreciation Tour stops across four cities, a stretch that shows how far her on-camera career has traveled since her first College GameDay appearance.

Members who have followed her tread and strength classes for years are watching a familiar face take on one of the more meaningful assignments of her career. Jess Sims Special Olympics coverage in Minneapolis suggests this assignment landed differently than the rest, and her own posts from the field back that up. Follow along with her coverage on Instagram for updates as the week continues.