Team Ulster gymnast Sophie Carson and family.

Team Ulster have returned home with a haul of 384 medals from the 2018 Special Olympics Ireland Games in Dublin.

Some 273 local Team Ulster athletes competed in the Special Olympics Ireland Games in June. A total of 1600 athletes from the four cor­ners of Ireland took part in the Games, which are one of the largest and most prestigious sporting events to take place in Ireland in 2018.

Ulster region athletes competed in 12 sports and Motor Activities Training (MATP), including Athlet­ics, Aquatics, Badminton, Basketball, Bocce, Bowl­ing, Equestrian, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Kayak­ing and Table Tennis.

Team Ulster won 384 medals (186 gold; 104 sil­ver and 94 bronze), along­side countless fourth and fifth place finishes, partici­pation ribbons and personal bests at the Games, which concluded in Dublin.

There were huge success for Team Ulster across the board, with the team medalling in all 12 sports and MATP. On the track and field, Ulster athletes secured almost 90 medals; while in the pool, aquatics athletes secured over 60 medals.

Team Ulster’s gymnasts blazed a trail at the Games, securing 19 gold, 7 silver and 9 bronze medals. Amongst the winners was Patrick Quinlivan, 36, from Letterkenny, Donegal, who claimed four gold med­als and Meg Carr, 17, also from Letterkenny, who won two gold and one silver medal. 13-year-old Sophie Carson from Donaghadee, Co. Down claimed three bronze medals in her Ire­land Games debut.

Rose Murphy, 11, from Newtownards, Co. Down won triple gold in three different artistic gymnas­tics events. Team Ulster’s youngest athlete, gymnast Lucia Carrigan, 10 from Belfast claimed two gold and one silver medal, while teammates Jordan Kerr, 23 from Belfast won three gold and one silver medal and Anna Joudah, 15, also from Belfast, won one gold and two bronze medals.

Head gymnastics coach, Anthony Monaghan said: “It has been a fantastic Games - the atmosphere is amazing, the crowd have been really supportive, which really helped lift the gymnasts. To walk away with these results makes all the hard work in the run up to it worth it. Words can’t describe how proud I am of everyone; our gymnasts, coaches, families and sup­porters - everyone had done Ulster proud!”

The Team Ulster bad­minton squad also had an excellent Games, with all four athletes claiming gold medals throughout the weekend. The squad in­cluded up and coming stars, Sarah-Louise Rea (19), Ben Hayward (18) and Aaron Fitzpatrick (21) from Lis­burn and Kealan Woods (12) from Cavan.

In Table Tennis, gold medals were secured by Carole Catling (41) from Newtownabbey, and Phil­lip Patton (27) from Dro­more, Co. Down in Singles events, while there were bronze medals for Alex­ander Dawson, 23 from Craigavon, Co. Armagh and Justin Erskine from Mona­ghan Town in Doubles competitions.

Willie McMillan, bad­minton head coach, Team Ulster said: “The guys have trained very hard and were well up for the chal­lenge; three of the team play mainstream badminton and I am delighted with the standard of all of the team’s badminton this weekend and I am so proud of their achievements. To represent their province is incred­ible. There has been a huge amount of support here in Dublin, the parents and families have been fantastic and Team Ulster have made a big impression – and a lot of noise – this weekend.”

Further medals were won by Ulster athletes in Basketball, Bocce, Bowl­ing, Equestrian, Football, Golf, Kayaking and Motor Activities Training.

A total of 2,144 medals (959 gold, 667 silver and 518 bronze) were awarded over the course of the four-day residential Games, with countless personal bests achieved by athletes from each of the five regions – Connaught, Eastern, Lein­ster, Munster and Ulster.

Commenting after the Games, Shaun Cassidy, regional director for Special Olympics Ulster said: “Our congratulations go to all of the athletes that took part and represented the Ulster region so well over the course of Games - we’re so proud of each and every one of them. For many of our Team Ulster athletes, the 2018 Special Olympics Ireland Games in Dublin were their first chance to compete on a national stage; to represent their region at these prestigious Games is, in itself, a phe­nomenal achievement.

“Bringing home 384 med­als and personal bests from a competition of this level is a huge achievement. They are also returning home with memories and new friendships that will last a lifetime. I would also like to thank all the families, coaches and vol­unteers from across the Ul­ster region, who all played their part in making these Games such a huge success; it would not have been pos­sible without them.”

Selected athletes from these Games will go on to represent Team Ireland at the 2019 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Abu Dhabi.

The 2018 Games were supported by 600 coaches and official delegates and 2,500 volunteers, with thousands of spectators turning out to cheer on athletes in venues across Dublin. Special Olympics Ireland is a year-round sports training and competi­tion programme for people with an intellectual disabil­ity. The benefits of partici­pation in Special Olympics extend beyond the physical benefits of sport; it’s about team spirit, friendships and fun; it’s about a feeling of belonging and a sense of being part of a community. Special Olympics changes lives in so many different ways, enabling people with an intellectual disability to achieve and win not only in sport but in life too.

The public can follow further news and updates from the 2018 Special Olympics Ireland Games on Twitter, @SO_Ulster and @SOIreland using the hashtag, #IrelandGames. Further updates and high­lights from the Games will be posted on the Special Olympics Ulster Facebook page, Facebook.com/SpecialOlympicsUlster

For further information about Special Olympics Ulster and the Special Ol­ympics Ireland programme, visit www.specialolympics.ie