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Team Australia media contact: 
Sharon Nixon, Special Olympics Australiamedia@specialolympics.com.au
0406 821 461

 

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CLOSING CELEBRATIONS

Newcastle will farewell Special Olympics athletes in spectacular style tomorrow night with a parade of athletes and a fireworks display at Newcastle Foreshore from 7.15pm.

 

Over 2,500 athletes and officials will participate in the parade along Wharf Road to Customs House and we encourage locals, volunteers and families to line the street to give athletes of the first ever Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games a farewell that they will never forget.

 

The Closing Celebrations will mark the official end of the Games and will feature words from our athlete ambassadors as well as a performance by multi-award winning country singer Amber Lawrence.

 

SPORTS ROUNDUP

 

It was an action-packed day on the track today with plenty of finals to wrap up a fantastic week of athletics competition. A huge 56 medal ceremonies were held with volunteers and officials presenting medals and ribbons to athletes. The volunteer team at Hunter Sports Centre have been amazing all week making sure events ran smoothly and athletes were able to compete to the best of their ability. So, it was no surprise that there were plenty of smiles and tears as they said goodbye.

 

The Forum was packed to the brim today for the final day of what has been a spectacular competition. NRL and Newcastle Knights great Paul Harrigan made an appearance midway through the day to present medals, making the day of many Aussie fans and athletes who relished in the support of a local celebrity.

 

Plenty of spectators, schoolkids and volunteers got in early to secure the best seats to watch the medal matches today at the Newcastle Basketball Stadium. Those at the venue witnessed plenty of fierce competition and every basket was celebrated with loud cheers as teams focused on winning gold for their country. The Australian men’s division 1 team made up of South Australian athletes took out the final on the main court against the other top-level Australian team, with athletes from NSW, in what was one of the most intense events of the competition.

 

The bocce competition has been a huge event and with so many athletes involved there have been a few delays, so some final medals will be awarded tomorrow at the hugely popular Charlestown Bowling Club.

 

Our cricket team were delighted to receive the bronze medal in the cricket competition. This is the first time our Aussie Special Olympis athletes have had a chance to represent our country in the sport.

 

 

Today the Philippines team defeated Bharat (India) to win the gold medal in the 11-a-side football competition, ending their competition undefeated. Team Philippines football coach Jesus C Landacau, or 'Coach Jess' as he is affectionately known, is in awe of their performance.

 

Despite football being less popular in his home country the talented Philippines boys have managed to dominate the football field at the Special Olympics Asia Pacific Games. Coach Jess now hopes to increase football participation back home.

 

On the topic of the Australian lifestyle he said, ‘the stay has been nice. I am envious of the wealth and opportunity this nation is privileged with.’  His team, many of whom were abandoned and orphaned in childhood, have thrived in the welcoming Aussie environment despite having trained together for only three months.

 

 

Our four competitiors each won a medal, with Ashley Parrott picking up gold in the Open Men's competition defeating the reigningworld champion from India.

 

Another great day for Team Australia bowlers in the teams event at Superstrike Bowl. The tally for the day was 4 gold, 7 silver, 2 bronze and 2 fourth.

 

OUR INTERNATIONAL CHAMPIONS
Bangladesh | Golan Mostafa coach of the Bangladesh aquatics team quotes that the 'nice weather and nice people' are contributing largely to the wonderful time he and his team are having in Newcastle during the Games. Mostafa reasons that Australia is a very privileged country as he compares the air quality and spaciousness to that of Bangladesh. One specific member of the team 'Parul Akter' has had a fantastic success when she managed to obtain a gold medal when participating in the 50metre women's breaststroke. Parul has previously traveled to the Athens games in Greece in 2011 but maintains that Australia is 'nicer' as she loved seeing the native wildlife. The whole Bangladesh team is 'having fun' and enjoying their time in Australia. 
 
Bharat (India) | The Indian aquatics team are having a very 'nice time' in Australia quotes Duyashant (from New Delhi) who recently achieved a silver as he came second in the 25m mens breaststroke. His favorite part about the games so far is definitely the swimming although Duyashant had an extremely 'fun rest day' which he spent with the whole of his team.
 
Indonesia | Harison the coach of the indonesian aquatics team comments that everything is 'going well' with his team of eight athletes (5 male and 3 female).  He and his team spent part of their rest day at Myuna Bay (which reminded him of Toba Lake near his home in Indonesia).
 
Singapore | 16-year-old athlete Merissa from Singapore loves Australia. Her whole team 'feels like family' and this is one of the main reasons why Merissa loves Special Olympics. A major part of the games apart form the competition itself is the Healthy Athletes program which all the athletes partake in. Merissa learnt about the different types of foods which benefit the body and the importance of eating the correct amount and types of foods while avoiding others such as excess sugars - or as she puts it"more vegetables and less sugar.'
 
Philippines | Philippines head aquatic coach Maila trains and teaches many students in the Philippians. Her favorite aspect of the games so far would have to be the Opening Ceremony where she was astonished by the organisation that allowed fire dancers, horses, plays and singers to perform in order to celebrate the opening of the games. Maila maintains that her swimmers are doing very well winning all of bronze, silver and gold medals however feels that her favorite part of Australia would have to be the beach and all the friendly faces she has met there.
 
Macau | Johnny head aquatics coach of Macau is overwhelmingly proud of the achievements of his team and their efforts so far in the games. Considering swimming is not s big sport in Macau the success of his team in receiving one gold and two bronze has left the whole team 'most happy.' The athletes were excited by their interactions with  the kangaroos and koalas  as they feel they are 'symbols' of the Australian identity.