Behind the scenes at the World Dwarf Games

Before this weekend's inspiring competition, check out these photos from the last quadrennial event

World Dwarf Games

The sixth World Dwarf Games will begin this weekend in East Lansing, Mich., bringing together athletes from 17 countries to compete in tennis, basketball, swimming, and other sports.

In 1985, Len Sawisch, then-president of the Little People of America Foundation, convinced organizers of the Cerebral Palsy/Les Autres National Games, which were being held at Michigan State University, to also host several events exclusively for dwarf athletes.

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"When I was born in 1951, if you were a dwarf kid and you were interested in sports, you could do two things: You could work for the circus, or you could go into midget wrestling," Sawisch told the Lansing State Journal. "Today, there are little kids all over the world who are thinking about coming here to compete in the World Dwarf Games. That blows me away."

Sarah Eberspacher is an associate editor at TheWeek.com. She has previously worked as a sports reporter at The Livingston County Daily Press & Argus and The Arizona Republic. She graduated from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.