Twenty one Special Olympic athletes from Bahrain are set to compete against the world's best at the 13th annual Middle East and North Africa Regional Games next month.

They will join more than 7,500 participants from 185 nations vying for medals in 22 sports at the event in Athens.

Another 3,000 coaches and officials, 25,000 volunteers, 40,000 family members, thousands of spectators and hundreds of journalists will also be part of the games.

The Special Olympics World Summer Games will take place in the Greek capital Athens from June 25 to July 4.

The Special Olympics Bahrain (SOB) team will take part in several events, including table tennis, athletics (track and field), swimming and equestrian.

The delegation, headed by national director Mohammed Al Matooq, consists of 50 members including athletes, trainers and support staff.

Bahrain's athletes had brought home an impressive 45 medals at last year's regional Special Olympics in Damascus, Syria.

They won 21 gold, 10 silver and 14 bronze medals during a record-breaking performance.-TradeArabia News Service