Large crowds expected to welcome Team Ireland home from Athens games
A massive homecoming is planned for the Irish Special Olympics Team tomorrow as they arrive into Dublin airport with a terrific total of 107 medals from the Athens games.
The 126 athletes of Team Ireland bagged 31 gold, 44 silver and 32 bronze medals having competed in 12 sports at the Games: aquatics, athletics, badminton, basketball, bocce, bowling, equestrian, football, golf, gymnastics, kayaking and table-tennis.
The athletes were this evening set to attendthe closing ceremony of the 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games. Special Olympics athlete Diarmuid O’ Leary from Cork and basketball coach Michael Lynch from Westmeath will represent Team Ireland in the parade of delegations during the ceremony.
The closing ceremony, which will be attended by the 7,500 athletes who competed in the Games, will officially mark the end of the event. It will also be attended by the 200 Irish volunteers who have been working at the Games for the past 10 days.
Team Ireland is due to touch down in Dublin Airport at 12.25pm tomorrow where family members, friends and supporters will be eagerly awaiting their arrival.
The 2011 Special Olympics World Summer Games, which kicked off on June 25, was the biggest sporting event to take place in the world this summer with 7,500 athletes from 185 nations competing.
The Games were supported by 25,000 volunteers.
