Special Olympics Great Britain Earns 39 Medals in Judo, Swimming, Powerlifting, Table Tennis & Gymnastics Football Teams Through to Finals!
Shanghai Monday 08/10/07 - While most of the outdoor sports were washed-out (Athletics, Equestrian, Cycling, Golf, Kayaking and Sailing); the Great Britain Team created a storm of their own!
FOOTBALL:
Footballers took to the field with a tide of enthusiasm which swept them to victory in the most horrendous conditions they had ever played in. High winds, torrential rains and mud were no match for the women 5-a-side win over Kazakhstan and the me 11-a-side draw brought them into the finals with both earning a guaranteed Silver or Gold medal.
According to head coach Elaine McKenna, It was very treacherous and all the athletes were slipping and sliding in the mud. All the lines were obscured and the stands were empty. Nevertheless, the team held on to a tie score with Ecuador, bringing them into the finals.
The Mens 11-a-side are looking forward to a second chance to beat the Russians since their loss to them last week. According to McKenna, was very proud of our team because they didn't retaliate against the very physical and aggressive antics of the Russian team. Our Team held their composure and discipline throughout?
The women 5-a-side will play against South Africa for the Gold on Wednesday and the men 11-a-side will play Russia for Gold on Thursday.
JUDO:
The Judo Team added more metal to their collection of medals with Wales' Richard Evans bringing home Gold and Daniel Amel-Azizpour from Bristol and Christopher Summerhayes from Stapleton both bringing in Silver.
SWIMMING:
The GB swim team continues to impress at the Shanghai atatorium(a.k.a. Swim Center) as they created a wave of excitement. Team GB owned the women and men 25m butterfly with both Scotland Ionutsa McClelland and Dundee Andrew Gray winning Gold.
Ryan Peterson of St. Andrews added a Bronze to his Gold collection with a 3rd place finish in the 50m backstroke. Laura Jervis from Cheshire came in 4th in the same discipline.
POWERLIFTING:
Our powerlifters powered through the day with 13 medals! Christina McSherry from West Lothian brought home 3 Gold and 1 Silver as did her Scottish teammate Frances Skiftesvik. Simon Waggett from West Yorkshire won 4 Silver and Yorkshire Humberside Katie Whitaker was delighted with a Bronze.
TABLE TENNIS:
In Table Tennis, SOGB shined through the rain-soaked day. Jeffrey Jarvis from Leicestershire and Emma Jones from Shropshire are the proud owners of Gold Medals for mixed doubles. The team was unbeatable against the United Arab Emirates, Japan, Mauritius and Bangladesh, winning all matches.
RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS:
The Rhythmic Gymnastics Team were the big winners with a combined 19 medals! Melissaq Hughes of Runcorn Cheshire won 3 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze; Darlington Penny Watson won 1 Gold, 3 Silver and 1 Bronze; Verity Boocock of Peterborough won 2 Silver and 2 Bronze; and Elizabeth Williams of Hampshire amazed everyone with a total of 5 Gold!
Medal Tally for Today:
Gold: 19 Silver: 14 Bronze: 6
All of the athletes competing in the World Games are being featured in action on a dedicated website at www.specialolympicslive.org.