KEY POINTS:
A world away from France and the Rugby World Cup, a group of New Zealand athletes are busy salvaging Kiwi pride.
As the Special Olympics in China neared completion yesterday, the New Zealand team medal count stood at 59 medals, 22 of them gold, with three events remaining.
One of the stars among the 49 Special Olympians at Shanghai was powerlifter Christopher Tilley, from Nelson.
The 20-year-old lived up to his favourite tag, winning three gold medals and a silver medal.
He took the combined gold for all lifts in the MG1 division, with an 85kg bench press, 160kg squat and 182.5kg dead lift for a 427.5kg total. He also won the individual squat title and the individual dead lift, and finished second in the individual bench press.
New Zealand delegation head Sue Kysow felt one of the greatest achievers was the men's basketball team. After holding only eight training sessions before leaving for Shanghai, they claimed the division six title, by beating Switzerland, Poland and Kazahkstan.
The Special Olympics is held every four years for athletes with intellectual disabilities, and precedes next year's Beijing Olympics. More than 7000 athletes from 160 countries competed in this year's event.
Mrs Kysow said the mood among the New Zealand camp was one of celebration. She felt the athletes had exceeded expectations. "Some of these athletes should be in the Beijing Olympics next year, not just the Special Olympics."
New Zealand Special Olympics chairman David Rutherford was delighted with the success of the athletes. But he said the empowerment of those with disabilities was more important than victory.
"The most important aspect of the Special Olympics is changing people's attitudes - both the athlete's attitude to their own capabilities and the public's attitudes towards those with disabilities.
"One of the most inspirational things is how you are challenged by these athletes' achievements."
The Special Olympics was charting a positive trend in New Zealand, said Mr Rutherford. Numbers of athletes had risen 70 per cent in the past three years.
However, Special Olympians faced hurdles at local and international levels. Not only did the athletes struggle for funding in New Zealand, they faced the stigma of carrying an invisible disorder.
Competitors with intellectual disabilities could not compete in the Paralympics, because it was deemed too difficult to determine competitors' eligibility.
"Many countries were working together to resolve this issue," said Mrs Kysow.
She believed that the Shanghai setting was significant.
Historically China had a poor human rights record, she said, but their hosting of the event affirmed their commitment to changing attitudes towards disabled people. Mrs Kysow said Shanghai was a warm and hospitable host city. They had provided 40,000 volunteers for the games, including a volunteer for every athlete competing.
