Athletes go for gold on the coast
Lachlan Robinson won a medal in the pool and also met swimming legend Duncan Armstrong.
Kimberley Langton and Tiffany Smith enjoy the limelight of the podium.
The Queensland men's basketball team huddle to discuss strategy.
Peter Marks helps swimmers prepare for competition.
A sporting family: Matthew Brown and his mother, Julie.
Whether it was the remarkable athletic feats, the camaraderie of new-found friends or the spectacle and pageantry of the medal presentations, the eighth Special Olympics National Games were nothing short of memorable.
Held in October last year, the games saw 1000 athletes from 169 countries, 3000 volunteers, 3500 officials and 3000 families, friends, spectators and journalists flock to the Gold Coast for seven days of stiff competition.
Staged for the first time in Queensland, the games saw athletes with an intellectual disability participate in 10 national sports: athletics, swimming, softball, soccer, gymnastics, basketball, tenpin bowling, tennis, golf and a recent addition, bocce.
Nine-year-old Queenslander Grace Wyer - the youngest athlete competing in the games - says it was the experience of competition, rather than receiving a medal, that was most important.
"This is my biggest competition," she says. "I like to do my routines and I always do my best."
Coach Norma Koplick helped the Queensland athletics team achieve sporting success.
"My background is in 'throwing', so when the head coach was busy I looked after the athletes [who competed in shot put] and helped them warm up for competition," says Norma, a silver medallist in javelin at the 2000 Sydney Paralympics.
"For me, the best part of the games was when one of my athletes achieved a personal best.
"Seeing all of the athletes achieve their personal goals was special and made me glad to be a part of the Queensland team."
Special Olympics Gold Coast Organising Committee Chair Paul Stevens says the week could not have been better.
"From an organisational point of view, the week was a dream," he says. "The weather, the sport, the venues, the volunteers and the athletes all combined to deliver a truly magical experience for everyone involved."
Games organiser Special Olympics Australia hosted the first National Games in 1986 and since then the competition has grown into a sporting extravaganza.
The games is also an opportunity for athletes to qualify for other high-level competitions. For example, elite athletes from the Gold Coast event, including more than 30 Queenslanders, have recently been invited to compete in the Special Olympics Summer World Games to be held in October this year in Shanghai, China.
For more information:
phone (02) 8116 9833
email info@specialolympics.com.au
or visit
www.specialolympicsqueensland.org.au
www.specialolympics.org.au
www.2007specialolympics.com and click on 'English'.
Last updated November 2007