RUMFORD — Douglas Maifeld, school resource officer for Regional School Unit 10, plans to carry the torch at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany in June 2023, representing Maine on the Final Leg Team.

The 120 team members will come from 46 states and 25 countries and include 96 law enforcement officers, 10 Special Olympics athletes and logistics personnel.

The retired Rumford police sergeant planned to carry the torch torch for the Special Olympics World Games in Russia in January 2021, but they were postponed to January 2023 due to COVID-19.

“I don’t know if they’ve even rescheduled the Russia one,” Maifeld said. “With everything that’s going on with Russia, I don’t even know if they’ll send a delegation from Special Olympics to Russia. With all that being said, especially with my German heritage, I’ve changed to the Berlin one, which will be in June 2023, God willing.”

“Berlin is definitely a go, but I haven’t been contacted to find out what team I’m on yet and what they’re going to do for a fundraiser, etc.,” he said

It will be his 35th year of supporting Special Olympics.

Maifeld serves Regional School Unit 10 as the school resource officer for the Rumford Police Department. He is also the longtime Drug Abuse Resistance Education officer.

The Special Olympics World Games serve as a catalyst that will challenge perceptions about people with intellectual disabilities, and all people with differences, and demonstrate to the world the power of sport to establish thriving, inclusive communities by transforming attitudes and behaviors.

Two thousand athletes and partners from over 100 nations and 3,000 volunteers from around the world will gather for the games.