The athletes have so far collected 22 gold, 20 silver, and 7 bronze medals across sporting codes that include swimming, athletics, boccie, golf, table tennis, soccer, basketball, ten-pin bowling, and equestrian.
Special Olympics SA athletes at the World Summer Games in Berlin Germany. Picture: Niklas Richter/Supplied.
JOHANNESBURG – Team South Africa will need the country to help them carry their treasure as they continue to collect medals at the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany.
Special Olympics athletes have so far collected 22 gold, 20 silver and 7 bronze medals across the following sporting codes – swimming, athletics, boccie, golf, table tennis, soccer, basketball, ten-pin bowling, and equestrian.
At the 2019 games in the United Arab Emirates, Team South Africa brought home 35 gold, 15 silver and 12 bronze medals.
FILE: Team SA at the Special Olympics World Games in Germany. Photo: Facebook/Special Olympics South Africa
This year, South Africa competed against 7,000 athletes from across 180 countries.
The men’s football team won a gold medal in Division 1 male football and the basketball team won a silver medal.
“I am happy that my boys are just so free and happy to represent SA by flying our flag, and we are following the dream of Nelson Mandela, saying let’s go out there and compete, and also to build up our rainbow nation, and that is the best way,” said Special Olympics South Africa basketball coach, Harry Nakeng.
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FILE: Special Olympics SA athletes in Germany for the World Games. Picture: Niklas Richter/Supplied.
The Special Olympics World Games are the world’s largest inclusive sports event. Thousands of athletes with intellectual disabilities compete together in 26 sports.
“The fundamental difference between Special Olympics competitions and those of other sports organisations is that athletes of all ability levels are encouraged to participate, and every athlete is recognised for his/her performance.
Competitions are structured so that athletes compete with other athletes of similar ability in equitable divisions,” said Special Olympics South Africa CEO Ancilla Smith to Eyewitness News.
FILE: Special Olympics SA athletes in Germany for the World Games. Picture: Niklas Richter/Supplied.
“Sports unite people, sports unite the country, sports unite everyone, and at the end of the game, I felt that we are number one, and everyone said that South Africa did very well and that we performed very well, so that was exciting for me.
“We just need to improve and take it a little bit higher, we just need to take it a little bit higher to the roof, we are not going to stop, we are just going to continue growing as a country, and continue growing the sport basketball,” said Nakeng.
Team SA was selected after the 2022 Special Olympics South Africa National Summer Games in Limpopo. During the three-day event, Special Olympics athletes competed in eight sporting codes – athletics, aquatics, basketball, boccie, football, futsal, netball, table tennis and ten-pin bowling.
The Special Olympics South African national team consists of 64 athletes and 21 coaches hailing from across South Africa.
They join about 3,000 coaches and 20,000 volunteers from 190 countries.
Sunday is the last day for this year’s games that ran from 17 June, and the athletes are expected to return to South Africa on 27 June.
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