Teams from Whangarei and the Bay of Islands returned home with a haul of medals from a hugely successful National Special Olympics campaign in Palmerston North. "It was a great three days and everyone loved it," Whangarei Special Olympics chairman Andrew Langford said. Although the 33-strong Whangarei contingent and 13 athletes fromthe Bay of Islands were small teams in comparison to heavyweights Wellington and North Harbour, there were plenty of medals clinking on the bus north after the games closed on Saturday. Whangarei's swimmers excelled in the pool, picking up seven gold medals, five silver and nine bronze .
Melody Baker and Stephen Day shone, taking home two gold medals each, in the relay event and their respective 25m freestyle races. Arfon Davies also won two gold, in the relay and 25m breaststroke. Rae Alexander, 46, a first-timer at the event, represented the Whangarei team well and showed how inclusive the games were, Langford said. Whangarei's Pixie Baker - the sole female in the athletics team - collected their one gold medal when she stormed home in the 400m. The athletics team also picked up four silver and six bronze. Whangarei's basketball team impressed on the court, winning gold in their section, and the ten-pin bowling team took home a silver medal and two bronzes. The Bay Of Islands athletics team also won a swag of medals - nine in total, with four of them gold. Every member of the team returned with a personal best time.
"It was awesome and we are so proud," BOI team coordinator Nicole Grimme said.
