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Going for Gold in Athens! SA Athletes to represent Australia

special olympicsGoing for Gold in Athens!
South Australian Athletes to represent Australia at the
Special Olympics World Games in Athens
25 June – 4 July 2011

Following their success at the National Games held recently in Adelaide, six athletes and two volunteer coaches and team officials from Special Olympics South Australia (SOSA) have been selected as part of the Australian team going to the 2011 World Games being held in Athens, 25 June – 4 July. Athletes have until 16th July to confirm their places on the World Team and on 18th July the official Australian team will be announced.

The Special Olympics World Games are of a similar scope and scale as the Olympic Games and attract a comparable number of athletes and countries. At the 2011 Games, 7500 Special Olympics athletes from 185 nations will compete in 22 Olympic-type sports. These Games are set to be the largest sporting event in the world in 2011 and Australia will be proudly represented by 130 athletes and 40 team officials.

‘We are absolutely over the moon that six of our athletes and two of our coaches have been chosen to represent Australia at this international event for intellectually disabled athletes,’ comments Lisa Hester, SOSA State Manager. ‘We had just 72 athletes in the National Games but won 39 Gold, 41 Silver and 29 Bronze medals. It is a tremendous achievement for our state to have representatives on the Australian team and it clearly reflects the high standard our athletes are competing at.’

Selected Athletes are:
·         Brad Kinross, 17, Sheidow Park, Basketball
·         Wayne Kinross, 17, Sheidow Park, Basketball
·         Daniel Tsatsaronis, 24, Hazelwood, Bowling
·         Jasmine Crewdson, 17, Exeter, Basketball
·         Krystal Brown, 20, Loxton, Bowling
·         Rebecca Sargeant, 34, Morphett Vale, Basketball

Selected Team Support Staff are:
·         Leanne Vanderhoek Renmark, Assistant Coach – Aquatics
·         Ali Knights Basketball Roxby Downs, Assistant Coach – Women’s Basketball

‘The National Games were a fantastic event and I would like to thank all involved; organisers, sponsors and the 600 plus volunteers, as they have left a great legacy for our SOSA athletes,’ adds Lisa. ‘The increased awareness of Special Olympics resulting from the National Games means we can run more training sessions, and we are organising more competitive events for our athletes in the coming months.

‘People can now get regular updates of our activities by logging onto our website page, www.specialolympics.com.au/sa and show their support by joining our group on facebook. It’s definitely exciting times for SOSA,’ concludes Lisa.

Perhaps the hardest hurdle confronting the athletes will be raising the fees required to attend. Fundraising for these athletes will begin in earnest once the full team is officially announced. In the meantime, if any organisation, business or individual is interested in donating to SOSA to not only help our World Games athletes, but also help with funding for new planned events, please contact Lisa Hester on 8234 8730, 0404 160 974 or [email protected].

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